Thousands of applications were assigned to inactive reviewers. Were you one of them?
Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on "inactive users" on the Citizenship Records Management System (GCMS) shows 59,456 open, pending, or reopened applications assigned to 779 former staff members or inactive computer reservation codes .
The immigration department told CBC that once a user is marked as inactive, "it means they are no longer using the system and their access is no longer available."
These codes are located all over the world — from Canadian airports, border ports and processing centers, to embassies and consulates in the United States, the Philippines, India, Haiti, Poland, Brazil and Tunisia, etc.
Ottawa has the most inactive codes, followed by Edmonton, Vancouver, then Sydney, NS
Code SM10353 is the most serious, with 9,540 records assigned to it. This former employee, based in Sydney, NS, last used the system on March 23, 2021.
Next is:
- TD7976 , based in Ottawa, with 5,782 assigned applications, last logged in October 2020.
- TH04332 , based in Edmonton, with 3,937 assigned applications, last logged in February 2011.
- CB01126 , based in Sydney, NS, with 3,756 designated applications, last logged in December 2014.
- CB00580 , based in Edmonton, with 3,388 assigned applications, last logged in January 2012.
- RK01404 , based in New Delhi, India, with 2,201 designated applications, last logged in March 2021.
- CA9999 , based in Edmonton, with 2,167 assigned applications, last logged in August 2015.
- LB6660 , based in Sydney, NS, with 1,897 assigned applications, last logged in December 2016.
- RA9519 , based in Vancouver, with 1,864 assigned applications, last logged in February 2016.
- RL7901 , based in Ottawa, with 1,710 designated applications, last logged in November 2015.
- D9151 , based in Edmonton, with 1,702 assigned applications, last logged in August 2013.
An IRCC spokesperson explained the data: "The user code is a unique ID. Once assigned, no other user will have the same ID." "If the user is no longer required to use GCMS, the code will not work."
If you have any doubts about the progress of your application, you can check your tracking number by obtaining your GCMS and looking at the "Updated By" line.
The department said it could not delete these inactive user accounts "because we would lose the ability to trace them."
See more at CBC News .