With regard to the Chinook tool used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in the processing of study permits and temporary visas: (a) why has the use of Chinook not been publicly disclosed; (b) who developed this tool and why; (c) how does the tool work; (d) what are the different steps in its use; (e) has the tool been subject to one or more cybersecurity audits and, if so, by which firm or individual; (f) why is its use not disclosed directly to immigration applicants; (g) why can’t details of decisions made using the tool be saved or retained in some way; (h) what oversight does IRCC provide to ensure that immigration officers use the tool correctly; (i) what data is processed using the tool; (j) how are immigration applications ranked and based on what indicators; (k) what efficiency gains does Chinook provide; (l) what keywords or indicators are most likely to increase the risk level of an application; (m) what keywords or indicators are most likely to lead to a refusal of an application; (n) what do we know about the algorithms used by the tool; (o) why have refusal rates for study permit applications increased significantly since the tool was implemented in March 2018; (p) what guidance is provided to IRCC staff about using the tool; (q) what visa offices, in Canada and abroad, use Chinook, broken down by office; (r) in (q), what version of Chinook is used; (s) what visa offices processing study permit and temporary visa applications, in Canada and abroad, do not use Chinook; (t) in (s), why; and (u) was the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship at the time of Chinook’s implementation consulted about its implementation?
In the House of Commons on January 31st, 2022. See this statement in context.