In addition to automated triaging Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) has also introduced software so that officers can bulk process applications. The software tool is known as Chinook.
According to an affidavit that IRCC filed in Federal Court, Chinook is a standalone tool that streamlines administrative steps. Applicant information is extracted from their applications and presented in a spreadsheet. Visa officers are assigned a workload of applications through Chinook. They are able to see multiple applications at a time on a single spreadsheet. This allows them to review the contents of multiple applications on a single screen, and allows them to complete administrative steps through batch processes. It also allows visa officers to create “risk indicators” and “local word flags” so that officers can identify possible applications in the processing queue of concern or priority.
According to the Federal Court affidavit, when visa officers enter Chinook a message pops up which says, amongst other things, “The Chinook User Interface allows you to view multiple applications for review and initial assessment. It does not replace reviewing documents.. and/or reviewing other information… The refusal notes generator is meant to assist with general bona fide refusals. If the notes do not reflect your refusal reasons, please write an individual note.”
Jurisprudence
In Haghshenas v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 464, Justice Brown stated that whether a decision is reasonable or unreasonable will determine if it is upheld or set aside, whether or not artificial intelligence was used.
In Mehrara v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 1554, Justice Battista affirmed that the use of Chinook is not a breach of procedural fairness.
Manuals
The Chinook user guide can be found here:
Chinook User GuideAnother version specific to Modules 1 and 2 can be found here:
Modules 1 and 2Chinook-reducedsize