Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada's (IRCC) online Portals

This is not a news item. It is a criticism and some warnings.

Most communication with IRCC nowadays is through IRCC's web sites, emails, and online "Portals". While super convenient for IRCC, these can be a nightmare for applicants. At least with paper filings you knew exactly what was sent and would receive from the courier company or Canada Post proof of receipt. You also had an idea where the file was being processed. In the computer-based systems attachments are often dropped by IRCC's computer systems. Even when IRCC asks for copious materials, there are limits (often very small) on how much can be served electronically on IRCC.

Please keep screenshots of everything you send to IRCC!

These web sites and portals are often, due to technical issues or volume, inaccessible or down for hours or even days at a time. Employment and Social Development Canada's (ESDC) Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) application portal (true, this is not IRCC) has been down for weeks with no notice that it is down or notice when it will be fixed.

If you are facing a deadline do not wait until the last moment to file your materials – there is a good chance the web site or portal will be down.