Contracting out of IT Work at IRCC

April 26, 2021

The Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship 365 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa ON K1A 1L1
By email: Minister@cic.gc.ca

Dear Minister Mendicino,

I am writing on behalf of hundreds of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Information Technology specialists represented by the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC) regarding the contracting out of the work performed by members of our Computer Systems (CS) Group.

Our representatives have prepared the attached report, “Contracting Out of IT Work at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada”, an analysis of the policy grievances submitted against IRCC between January 2018 and March 2020 for outsourcing of government work that could have been done internally.

The data within demonstrates how the Department is not following Article 30 of the CS Collective Agreement, which stipulates that the employer must make a reasonable effort to use existing employees or hire new full-time or term employees as needed before contracting out work to private companies or consultants.

This report demonstrates that IRCC is the worst Canadian government Department with regards to adherence to Article 30. The length of time and the sheer number of contractors at IRCC in a position to do work that is established as permanent is staggering. In particular, our research shows a high amount of contracting out involving application support. This is important and non-temporary work that should undoubtedly be performed by public service professionals.

This is an issue of critical importance not only to our members and their public service colleagues, but to the Canadians they serve on a daily basis. Outsourcing results in higher costs, lower quality services, less transparency, less accountability and the loss of institutional knowledge and skills.

I thank you for your immediate attention to this matter and look forward to your response. Sincerely,

Debi Daviau,
President, PIPSC

cc : Catrina Tapley, DM, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (catrina.tapley@cic.gc.ca)

Published on 30 April 2021

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