AI-Assisted Case Prioritization for OAS Program Integrity

Service Canada uses an automated case prioritization system to help identify Old Age Security (OAS) recipients who may no longer be eligible for benefits due to extended absences from Canada. Under OAS program rules, individuals who leave Canada for more than six months may lose their entitlement to OAS and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS). This system analyzes travel data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) alongside ESDC program data to rank and group cases that may require human review, helping investigators focus their attention on the highest-priority files first.

This system does not make any decisions about your benefits eligibility. It only organizes and prioritizes a list of cases for review by trained human investigators at the Integrity Services Branch. Every case flagged by the system undergoes a thorough manual pre-assessment, and any final determination about eligibility is made by a human agent. If a decision is made that affects your benefits, you have the right to request a reconsideration under section 27.1 of the Old Age Security Act.

This project was developed in accordance with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Directive on Automated Decision-Making and was reviewed by ESDC's Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence, Legal Services, the Privacy Management Division, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. A Privacy Impact Assessment was completed on July 30, 2020.