Procession to Parliament Hill — March 13, 2026 — Ottawa, Ontario 国会山游行 — 2026年3月13日 — 渥太华，安大略省 Marche vers la Colline du Parlement — 13 mars 2026 — Ottawa, Ontario

References

The following sources support the claims in our Declaration of Justice. Citation markers [1]–[5] in the declaration link to these references.

IRCC application inventories

Canada. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. "Understanding IRCC's application inventories." Government of Canada, November 30, 2025.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/reports-statistics/statistics-open-data/immigration-stats/application-inventory.html

Key statistics: 2,130,700 total applications; 1,005,800 (47%) in backlog. Permanent Residence: 941,600 total; 515,000 (55%) in backlog. Provincial Nominee Program (Express Entry): Improved to 20% backlog by mid-2023, collapsed to 53% by November 2025, projected to reach 56% by January 2026.

Documented impacts of processing delays

Documented impacts of processing delays based on applicant cases and immigration legal practice. Financial harms include: loss of domestic tuition eligibility (international student fees are typically $20,000–$40,000/year higher than domestic rates, resulting in $80,000–$200,000 in excess costs over 4 years for families with university-age children); legal fees for mandamus applications ($10,000–$30,000); inability to access provincial healthcare; and loss of employment opportunities due to uncertain immigration status. Mental health impacts and family separation are well-documented consequences of prolonged immigration uncertainty exceeding multiple years.

Discrimination in immigration security screening

Discrimination in immigration security screening is documented in multiple official government reports:

  • NSIRA Investigation (2022): The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency investigated complaints from Iranian citizens alleging discrimination in CSIS security background checks. NSIRA determined that the criteria applied for requesting CSIS background checks "was not justifiable on security grounds." The complaints proceeded to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. NSIRA investigation summary.
  • NSIRA Annual Report 2024: NSIRA received 79 new complaints in 2024, with 67 related to CSIS and 52 (66%) involving delays in immigration security screening. NSIRA Annual Report 2024.
  • Auditor General Report (October 2023): Auditor General Karen Hogan's report found "differences in size and age of application backlogs by country of citizenship existed in seven of the eight permanent resident programs examined." CBC coverage.
  • Federal Court jurisprudence: Canadian courts have established that prolonged security screening delays, particularly those disproportionately affecting applicants from certain regions, violate administrative law principles. In Conille v. Canada (1999 FC), the Court warned against leaving applicants in "administrative limbo."
  • Legal framework: The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Section 15 – Equality Rights) prohibits discrimination based on national or ethnic origin. Canadian administrative law principles establish the right to timely decisions, with "undue delay" potentially violating principles of fundamental justice.

Lack of transparency, recourse, and compensation

The lack of transparency, recourse, and compensation for immigration processing delays is documented in official government sources:

A. No transparency – limited ATIP access

  • CSIS Security Screening: "What CSIS can disclose may be limited"; the CSIS ATIP Section "has no authority to intercede in security screening applications." CSIS Security Screening.
  • Information Commissioner: The Office of the Information Commissioner remains "deeply dissatisfied that IRCC has yet to achieve the results it has been promising" and noted that "four years after she issued recommendations... individuals are still relying on the access system to obtain basic information about their immigration files" with "concrete results lacking." OIC 2024-2025 Annual Report.

B. No independent ombudsman

  • Despite recommendations to "create an Immigration Ombudsperson to oversee IRCC and to receive complaints," Canada has NO independent immigration ombudsman for client-facing complaints. Parliamentary committee (March 28, 2022).

C. No meaningful recourse

  • Service fee refunds: IRCC offers partial refunds when standards are missed, but these apply only to limited programs (not most PR applications); refunds are exempt for "exceptional circumstances"; a 50% refund on a $1,500 PR fee does not compensate for $130,000–$200,000 in excess tuition or years of lost income. Remissions policy (Service Fees Act).
  • Mandamus: The only effective legal remedy is a writ of mandamus; costs $10,000–$30,000; can only compel a decision, not compensate for harm. Federal Court cases: Almasi v. Canada, 2025 FC 1377; Gichura v. Canada, 2024 FC 1756; Habibi v. Canada, 2025 FC 1675.

D. No compensation for damages

  • There is NO government compensation program for financial or emotional harm caused by processing delays exceeding service standards by 300–500%. Mandamus can compel decisions but does not award damages for harm already suffered.

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