The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) is pleased to publish its
Fifth Annual Report on Member Complaints.
The Office of the Ombudsperson has jurisdiction to receive complaints made under the
Procedures for Making a Complaint about a Member (Procedures).This report deals with member complaints received and/or finalized between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. During this period, some 600
IRB decision-makers (members) issued over 72,000 decisions across the Board's four Divisions. The report includes information about complaints received and finalized along with the
Case Summaries 2022-23.
As outlined in the
Procedures, anyone can make a complaint about a member to the Office of the Ombudsperson. The complaint must be about the conduct of a member and not about what a member decides in a case. When a complaint concerns a member's decision or any element of their adjudicative discretion, the proper avenue is to file an appeal to one of the
IRB's appeal divisions or Federal Court, as appropriate.
Each complaint received is an opportunity to improve. The Board will put in place additional measures to strengthen the accountability, transparency and effectiveness of its complaints process, including ongoing outreach with stakeholder groups to promote the Procedures and their scope and application. In addition, the
IRB will continue to provide support and training to members as this is critical for them to conduct themselves in accordance with the high standards expected of them under the Code. Two important opportunities to note this year include member training that will accompany the release of a renewed Chairperson's Guideline 3:
Proceedings Involving Minors at the Immigration and Refugee Board, and Chairperson's Guideline 8:
Accessibility to
IRB Proceedings, both of which reinforce the Board's trauma-informed approach to adjudication and the high expectations of member conduct.
Richard Wex
Chairperson