In a quiet hearing room in Montreal, the clock ticks past noon. A claimant waits, file in hand, for a hearing that could decide her family’s future. Across the country, nearly 300,000 asylum claims sit in queue, as the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada unveils its 2026‑2027 Departmental Plan—a $344 million blueprint to restore timeliness to Canada’s refugee system.

Chairperson Manon Brassard’s message strikes a careful balance between pride and realism. “We continue to meet and exceed our targets,” she writes, while conceding that incoming claims still outpace funded capacity. Even with over 102,500 decisions finalized last year, the Board expects its inventory to grow through 2026.

To counter the surge, new scheduling and decision‑drafting tools promise to automate routine tasks without replacing human judgment. Registry staff will assemble files through structured digital templates. A triage system will stream cases to the right decision‑maker, while updated Rules of Practice expand virtual hearings.

Budget 2025 buys time, extending temporary asylum‑reduction funding to 2028 and supporting 2,475 staff positions. Yet looming over it all is Bill C‑12, which could transform the process by allowing only “schedule‑ready” cases to reach the Board. Preparing for that legislative shift, teams are rebuilding referral systems and aligning procedures for rapid implementation.

Quality standards remain the anchor: 95 percent of decisions met excellence benchmarks last year, with Federal Court overturn rates below one percent. The plan’s goal—80 percent timeliness compliance by 2027—underscores a system stretched but striving.

The outcome will test whether technology, temporary funding, and legislative reform can restore faith in Canada’s promise of fair and timely protection. For now, every hearing room clock keeps ticking.