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Canada has long been seen as a global leader in immigration policies — a beacon for people seeking safety, opportunity, and family reunification. Yet recent trends are causing alarm within immigration circles. Lawyers, consultants, and applicants alike are raising concerns that IRCC's use of processing technology may be contributing to unfair visa refusals. These refusals, critics argue, are sometimes based on incomplete reviews of applications, rushed decision-making, or reliance on computerized systems that fail to capture the nuances of individual cases.

For applicants navigating complex immigration rules, these developments create uncertainty and frustration. For legal experts, they raise serious questions about procedural fairness, human oversight, and the balance between efficiency and thoroughness in Canada's immigration process.

A Growing Concern Among Professionals

Toronto immigration lawyer Mario Bellissimo has been at the forefront of identifying these troubling trends. He recounts multiple instances where applications were rejected on seemingly flimsy grounds, such as missing documents that were clearly submitted. “It worries me as an applicant and as a lawyer for an applicant: what is actually being looked at?” he told CBC News.

Bellissimo’s concerns are shared by other immigration professionals who believe that IRCC's use of processing technology may be exacerbating systemic issues by encouraging speed over thoroughness. With the rise of machine-assisted sorting and spreadsheet-based review tools, officers can process applications faster — but critics argue that this could come at the expense of fairness and attention to detail.

How Technology Became a Solution — and a Problem

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has acknowledged that it is leveraging computer programs to streamline and organize the massive backlog of applications it faces. As of July 2025, more than 2.2 million applications were in process, with over 900,000 classified as backlogged beyond established timelines.

To address this, the department began implementing technologies like “advanced data analytics” and Chinook — tools designed to assist officers by identifying patterns and enabling bulk processing. The department asserts that these tools help manage workloads and speed up decision-making without compromising fairness, stating that human officers are responsible for final decisions.

Yet former senior immigration officer Annie Beaudoin, who served for 15 years, warns that IRCC's use of processing technology has introduced new challenges. She recounts that, during her tenure, officers were already under pressure to meet quotas, which often prioritized quantity over quality. The introduction of data-driven decision-making tools only compounded these pressures.

“I have sympathy because officers have a lot of pressure to do a lot of decisions extremely fast,” Beaudoin said. “And that's when these problems occur.”

The Role of Chinook and Advanced Analytics

The Chinook system, introduced in 2018, is a spreadsheet-based interface that allows officers to review, approve, or refuse multiple cases simultaneously. It simplifies the display of information and provides pre-written templates for decision letters. While IRCC's use of processing technology is presented as a way to assist rather than replace human judgment, immigration experts argue it blurs the line between assistance and automation.

According to internal documents, officers can use Chinook to process up to 150 applications in bulk and apply the same boilerplate reasoning across cases. Vancouver lawyer Will Tao, who researched the department's technology for his master's thesis, warns that this approach risks creating “bulk actions” where nuanced evaluation is sacrificed for efficiency.

“What it does is it alters decision-making,” Tao said, emphasizing that even if tools do not explicitly recommend refusals, their design can subtly encourage officers to shortcut deeper reviews.

Advanced data analytics, introduced in 2018, uses machine learning to identify patterns in applicant data — essentially predicting the likelihood of approval based on past cases. The department insists that this technology only aids in prioritizing cases and does not influence final decisions. However, critics argue that reliance on historical data can unintentionally propagate biases, particularly in cases involving unique circumstances or marginalized applicants.

The Human Impact of Unfair Visa Refusals

The concerns surrounding IRCC's use of processing technology are not merely academic — they directly impact individuals and families.

One such case is that of Chandni Ajwani and Jay Dave. Ajwani, a Canadian citizen, and Dave, an Indian citizen, were married in 2023 and sought to reunite under Canada's spousal sponsorship program. While their application was under review, Dave applied for a visitor visa to meet his spouse. The visa was rejected on grounds of insufficient funds, even though both provided extensive documentation proving their income.

“They have a lot of sympathy because officers have a lot of pressure to do a lot of decisions extremely fast,” Beaudoin remarked.

The couple's case was eventually reconsidered and approved, but the initial rejection left them disheartened. “There was anger, I'm not gonna lie. And the sad part is I know that's not how Canada functions,” Ajwani said.

Such cases highlight how IRCC's use of processing technology — when improperly managed — can lead to unfair denials and emotional distress for applicants and their families.

Balancing Efficiency and Fairness

Supporters of the technology point out that Canada’s immigration system must process millions of cases efficiently in order to meet national and global demands. With increased immigration targets and rising backlogs, technology plays a role in helping officers manage their workloads.

But critics argue that efficiency cannot come at the cost of fairness. Procedural fairness — the idea that every applicant is evaluated fully and thoughtfully — is a cornerstone of democratic governance and international human rights commitments. If technology shortcuts this process, it undermines public trust in the system.

“This bulk and blanket treatment of individuals definitely has had a negative impact on the system,” Tao said.

The Road Ahead: Oversight, Accountability, and Ethical Use of Technology

In response to growing concerns, IRCC maintains that officers are trained to conduct “careful and systematic” reviews and that applicants are always responsible for proving their eligibility. However, immigration advocates argue that training alone is insufficient without robust oversight mechanisms that ensure each file is fully reviewed.

Recommendations from experts include:

• Transparent guidelines on how technology is integrated into decision-making.

• Random audits of cases to ensure officers review each document thoroughly.

• Human oversight requirements that prevent bulk decision-making without detailed evaluation.

• Ethical frameworks that align with international standards of fairness and non-discrimination.

Furthermore, experts urge that technology should augment human judgment rather than replace it. Tools that assist in organizing information can be beneficial — but they must never be the primary driver of outcomes.

Conclusion

As Canada's immigration system modernizes, IRCC's use of processing technology remains at the center of an important debate. While technology offers promising tools for managing massive backlogs and improving efficiency, experts warn that without safeguards, it risks enabling rushed decisions and procedural unfairness.

For applicants like Chandni Ajwani and Jay Dave, who rely on a fair review to reunite with loved ones, the stakes are deeply personal. For immigration professionals, the concern is systemic — about how Canada’s reputation as a fair and welcoming nation can be preserved in an increasingly automated world.

The challenge moving forward will be to strike a balance: one that harnesses technological innovations while upholding the principles of justice, transparency, and humanity that define Canada's immigration ethos.