B.C. lawyer critical of cuts to Canada’s immigration department

A B.C. immigration lawyer says cuts to Canada’s immigration department could negatively impact underrepresented groups, both those seeking to enter the country and those who are already here.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said it plans to cut roughly 3,300 jobs over the next three years.

Will Tao, an immigration lawyer with Heron Law, expressed concern over the cuts, warning it could disproportionately affect marginalized communities.

“Who are going to be the ones impacted, right? I think we’ve all been part of organizations that go through downsizing, or have experiences of that. And it’s usually a certain type of individual: the racialized folks, the racialized women in the department, and that’s where the biggest concern is at,” Tao said.

Tao pointed to a November 2024 internal government audit that found significant anti-Black racism and resulted in the government promising to engage in such issues.

“You’re taking out the people in the room who may have had experiences, and may have had the mindset, framework, the lenses to look at the type of cases that are themselves going to be the ones most impacted.”

Affected workers will reportedly begin receiving letters of termination in a few weeks.

An internal IRCC memo showed that the cuts will affect every sector and region across the department to better fit its purpose and its shrinking budget.

About 20 per cent of the cuts will affect permanent employees.

Tao says the general consensus among experts suggests departments are already dealing with backlogs, such as refugee claims, and applications with grounds for humanitarian and compassionate considerations.

National president of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union (CEIU) Rubina Boucher confirms that members of the union employed by IRCC are the workers who do processing work and conduct interviews for permanent and citizenship residency.

“It is absolutely shocking when we talk about the loss of 3,000 jobs. No matter where they are, it’s significant, and we are really afraid of what these cuts mean for families and businesses across the country,” Boucher said.

“We are experiencing some of the longest wait times in this department,” Boucher said.

Boucher says there are other options besides downsizing.

“We have different solutions, like replacing costly outsourcing with more in-house expertise so millions of tax dollars aren’t just in the pocket of rich contractors,” Boucher said.

The cuts come as the federal government is looking to find $55.8 billion in savings by the 2027-2028 fiscal year, and $4.8 billion per year after that.