We’re proud to share that Wei Will Tao, principal lawyer at Heron Law Offices, was interviewed by CBC News in a feature published on July 23, 2025, about the federal government’s sudden shutdown of a major asylum system overhaul project.
The article, titled “$68M project to secure, revamp Canada’s asylum system shut down unexpectedly, documents show,” reveals that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) quietly ended its asylum interoperability project in early 2024 — despite the project being only 64% complete. The initiative, launched in 2019, aimed to digitize and streamline asylum processing by linking IRCC, CBSA, and the IRB in real time.
Wei Will Tao raised important concerns about transparency and due process in the use of digital tools across immigration departments. He questioned why Canada continues to face a historic backlog in refugee claims if the new technologies were effective. He also warned about the risks of back-end data sharing between IRCC, CBSA, and the IRB, which could affect claimants’ cases without their knowledge or opportunity to respond.
Wei emphasized that while digital modernization can be positive, it must not come at the expense of fairness, accountability, and access to justice for those seeking protection in Canada.
Check out the CBC TV video clip of Will Tao’s interview here:
You can read the full CBC article and watch Will’s interview clips here.
