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Future-oriented Financial Statements
Years Ending March 31, 2011 and 2012

Statement of Management Responsibility

Departmental management is responsible for these future-oriented financial statements, including responsibility for the appropriateness of the assumptions on which these statements are prepared. These statements are based on the best information available and assumptions adopted as at November 30, 2010 and reflect the plans described in the Report on Plans and Priorities.

In accordance with the Treasury Board Secretariat's Policy on Internal Audit, the Immigration and Refugee Board (the IRB) established a Departmental Audit Committee which includes external members. Its role is to provide the IRB Chairperson with added assurance and advice on risk management, control and governance processes.

Ottawa, Canada
January 17, 2011

Segmented information (Note 8)
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these future-oriented financial statements.

Notes to Future-oriented Financial Statements
For the Year Ending March 31

1.  Authority and Objectives

The Immigration and Refugee Board (the IRB) is an independent administrative tribunal that was created on January 1, 1989, by an amendment to the Immigration Act. In 2002, the Immigration Act was replaced by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) from which each IRB division gets its mandate. The mission of the IRB is to resolve immigration and refugee cases efficiently, fairly and in accordance with the law on behalf of Canadians. As an independent tribunal, the IRB's mandate is to:

Refugee Protection Program Activity:
Renders quality decisions and otherwise resolves cases in a timely manner regarding:

• Refugee protection claims made by persons in Canada
• Pre-removal risk assessments of persons subject to a removal order (1)

Refugee Appeal Program Activity (2):
Renders quality decisions and otherwise resolves cases in a timely manner regarding:

• Appeals against a decision made on a Refugee protection claim of the Refugee protection Division

Admissibility Hearings and Detention Reviews Program Activity:
Renders quality decisions and otherwise resolves cases in a timely manner regarding:

• Admissibility of foreign nationals or permanent residents who are alleged to be inadmissible to Canada pursuant to the provision of the IRPA
• Detention reviews for foreign nationals or permanent residents who are detained under the IRPA

Immigration Appeal Program Activity:
Renders quality decisions and otherwise resolves cases in a timely manner regarding:

• Sponsorship applications refused by CIC
• Certain removal orders made against permanent residents, refugees and other protected persons, and holders of permanent resident visa
• Permanent residents who have been found outside of Canada not to have fulfilled their residency obligation
• Appeals by the Minister of Public Safety of ID decisions at admissibility hearings

(1)  When transferred from CIC, see page 15 of the Report on Plans and Priorities for more details.
(2)  When proclaimed, see page 17 of the Report on Plans and Priorities for more details.

2.  Significant Assumptions

The future-oriented financial statements have been prepared on the basis of the government priorities and the plans of the IRB as described in the Report on Plans and Priorities.

The main assumptions are as follows:

1. Expenses of the program activities not affected by the Balanced Refugee Reform Act (BRRA), including the determination of amounts internal and external to the government, are based on historical experience. The general historical pattern is expected to continue.
2. Expenses of the program activities affected by the BRRA, reflect transitional and new spending to prepare for and implement the reform to Canada's refugee determination system which is expected to come into force in late 2011.
3. Forecasted year end information for 2010-11 is used as the opening position for the 2011-12 forecasts.

These assumptions are adopted as at November 30, 2010.

3.  Variations and Changes to the Forecast Financial Information

While every attempt has been made to accurately forecast final results for the year 2010-11 and for the year 2011-12, actual results achieved for both years are likely to vary from the forecast information presented, and this variation could be material.

In preparing these financial statements the IRB has made estimates and assumptions concerning the future. These estimates and judgments may differ from the subsequent actual results. Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.

Factors that could lead to material differences between the future-oriented financial statements and the historical financial statements include:

1. The coming into force date of the BRRA which can come into force no later than June 29, 2012.
2. The timing and amounts of acquisitions and disposals of equipment or, accommodation fit up required to prepare for the reform to Canada's refugee determination system, may affect gains/losses and amortization expense.
3. Further changes to the operating budget through additional new initiatives or technical adjustments later in the year.

Once the Report on Plans and Priorities is presented, the IRB will not be updating the forecasts for any changes to appropriations or forecast financial information made in ensuing supplementary estimates. Variances will be explained in the Departmental Performance Report.

4.  Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The future-oriented statements have been prepared in accordance with the Treasury Board accounting policies stated below, which are based on Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector. The presentation and results using the stated accounting policies do not result in any significant differences from Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.

Significant accounting policies are as follows:

1. Parliamentary appropriations – the IRB is financed by the Government of Canada through Parliamentary appropriations. The cash accounting basis is used to recognize transactions affecting parliamentary appropriations. The future-oriented financial statements are based on accrual accounting. Consequently, items presented in the Future-oriented Statement of Operations are not necessarily the same as those provided through appropriations from Parliament. Note 5 provides a reconciliation between the bases of reporting.
2. Net Cash Provided by Government – The IRB operates within the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF), which is administered by the Receiver General for Canada. All cash received by the IRB is deposited to the CRF and all cash disbursements made by the IRB are paid from the CRF. The net cash provided by Government is the difference between all cash receipts and all cash disbursements including transactions between departments of the Government.
3. Expenses – Expenses are presented on an accrual basis:
   • Vacation pay and compensatory leave are accrued as the benefits are earned by employees under their respective terms of employment.
   • Services provided without charge by other government departments for accommodation and employer contributions to the health and dental insurance plans are recorded as operating expenses at their estimated cost.
4. Employee future benefits
   1. Pension benefits: Eligible employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, a multiemployer pension plan administered by the Government. The IRB's contributions to the Plan are charged to expenses in the year incurred and represent the total obligation of the IRB to the Plan. Current legislation does not require the IRB to make contributions for any actuarial deficiencies of the Plan.
   2. Severance benefits: Employees are entitled to severance benefits under labour contracts or conditions of employment. These benefits are accrued as employees render the services necessary to earn them. The obligation relating to the benefits earned by employees is calculated using information derived from the results of the actuarially determined liability for employee severance benefits for the Government as a whole.
5. Tangible capital assets – All tangible capital assets and leasehold improvements having an initial cost of $10,000 or more are recorded at their acquisition cost.

   Amortization of tangible capital assets is done on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the asset as follows:

   Asset class	Amortization Period
   Informatics hardware	4 years
   Informatics software	5 years
   Machinery and Equipment	10 years
   Leasehold improvements	Term of lease

   Assets under construction are recorded in the applicable capital asset class in the year that they become available for use and are not amortized until they become available for use.

5.  Parliamentary Appropriations

The IRB receives its funding through expenditure authorities provided by Parliament. Items recognized in the statement of operations in one year may be funded through Parliamentary authorities in prior, current or future years. Accordingly, the IRB has different net results of operations for the year on a government funding basis than on an accrual accounting basis. The differences are reconciled in the following tables:

(a)  Authorities requested

Forecast authorities requested for the year ending March 31, 2012 are the planned spending amounts presented in the 2011-12 Report on Plans and Priorities. Estimated authorities requested for the year ending March 31 2011 include amounts presented in the 2010-11 Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (A) and (B), planned for presentation in Supplementary Estimates (C) and estimates of amounts to be allocated at year-end from Treasury Board central votes.

(b)  Reconciliation of net cost of operations to requested authorities:

6.  Employee future benefits

(a)  Pension benefits

The IRB's employees participate in the Public Service Pension Plan, which is sponsored and administered by the Government of Canada. Pension benefits accrue up to a maximum period of 35 years at a rate of 2 percent per year of pensionable service, times the average of the best five consecutive years of earnings. The benefits are integrated with Canada/Québec Pension Plans benefits and they are indexed to inflation.

The IRB's responsibility with regard to the Plan is limited to its contributions. Actuarial surpluses or deficiencies are recognized in the financial statements of the Government of Canada, as the Plan's sponsor.

(b)  Severance benefits

The IRB provides severance benefits to its employees based on eligibility, years of service and final salary. These severance benefits are not pre-funded. Benefits will be paid from future appropriations. Information about the severance benefits, estimated as at the date of these statements, is as follows:

7.  Related Party Transactions

The IRB is related as a result of common ownership to all Government of Canada departments, agencies, and Crown Corporations. The IRB enters into transactions with these entities in the normal course of business and on normal trade terms.

(a)  Common services provided without charge by other government departments

During the year, the IRB is forecasted to receive without charge from other departments, accommodation and the employer's contribution to the health and dental insurance plans. These services provided without charge have been recognized in the IRB's future-oriented Statement of Operations as follows:

The Government has structured some of its administrative activities for efficiency and cost-effectiveness purposes so that one department performs these on behalf of all without charge. The costs of these services, which include payroll and cheque issuance services provided by Public Works and Government Services Canada and audit services provided by the Office of the Auditor General, are not included as an expense in the IRB's Statement of Operations.

8.  Segmented information (in thousand of dollars)

Table Legend:
RP: Refugee Protection
IA: Immigration Appeal
AHDR: Admissibility Hearings and Detention Reviews
RA: Refugee Appeal
IS: Internal Services

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