Canada's asylum policy may lack sufficient oversight.

The article reports that the Immigration and Refugee Board adopted a “File Review” process that accepted many refugee claims on written files without in-person hearings, and that Canada’s asylum backlog rose from about 17,000 in 2016 to nearly 300,000 in 2025.

The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) is a large, quasi-independent tribunal that reports to Parliament through the minister but operates at arm's length from government. The article describes a policy called "File Review" under which many asylum claims were accepted on the basis of written applications and documents without in-person hearings. That process was presented as a way to speed decisions and reduce a backlog that the IRB had struggled to clear. The author, a former IRB member and government policy official, argues that the IRB’s structure limited visibility from ministers and other parts of government. Key points: - The IRB implemented a File Review policy allowing rapid acceptance of claims based only on written files; between January 2019 and February 2023, 24,599 claimants were accepted without being questioned at a hearing. - Canada’s recorded asylum backlog grew from roughly 17,000 cases in 2016 to nearly 300,000 cases by 2025. - The IRB is described as an "arm's length" institution with policy authorities that the rest of government had limited lines of sight over, which the author links to the unilateral adoption of the File Review approach. Summary: The author says the File Review approach reduced opportunities to question claimants, which can limit the ability to detect forged documents or to identify security and program-integrity concerns. He recommends reconsidering the IRB’s structure to provide ministers and cabinet with more direct visibility while preserving independent adjudication. Undetermined at this time.