On June 26th, Lev Abramovich joined Canadian Affairs to share his thoughts on the overreliance on the “Chinook System” has had on IRCC officer decisions, and the implications it has had on Canada’s immigration process overall.

Rushed, Half-Human Half-Chinook Answers

Lev raised serious concerns about Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) increasing use of automated tools like the Chinook system. He criticized the system for enabling officers to make rushed decisions with minimal human oversight, resulting in poorly reasoned refusal letters that often contain only one or two vague lines.

Inadequate Justifications Fuel Litigation

He noted that applicants frequently need to file access-to-information requests or take their cases to Federal Court just to understand why they were refused. This pattern, Lev warned, is contributing to a surge in immigration-related litigation that is straining the Federal Court’s limited resources. 

A Growing Systemic Crisis

Lev described this growing pressure on the courts as a broader systemic crisis, one that delays justice and weakens Canada’s ability to attract top global talent. He called for simple, meaningful reforms; starting with requiring IRCC to include proper reasoning in refusal letters, to help reduce unnecessary appeals and restore integrity to the process.