CIMM - Immigration and Citizenship Consultants - June 2, 2021

Key messages

Canada is taking decisive action to protect both the public and licensed consultants in good standing from dishonest actors who are taking advantage of vulnerable people.
The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act (College Act) provides a statutory framework to regulate immigration and citizenship consultants, and will make the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (the College) the official regulator for this profession across the country.
The College is anticipated to open this year, providing the power and tools to investigate professional misconduct and to discipline its licensees.
My Department launched a selection process to appoint public interest directors to the new College Board. We recently completed interviews. We are now finalizing our assessment and all necessary steps required for appointments. This process is open, transparent, and based on robust merit criteria.
Canada is also investing $48.3M over four years and $9.8M ongoing to improve the oversight of immigration and citizenship consultants, strengthen compliance and enforcement measures and increase public awareness.

Unlike the current regulator, the College will be a fundamentally different organization. It will have:
- strengthened authorities including strong governance and oversight;
- enhanced investigative powers to support complaints and discipline processes;
- power to compel witnesses to appear before the Discipline Committee;
- increased power to suspend or revoke licenses to practice as part of disciplinary decisions; and
- legislated power to seek court injunctions against unauthorized consultants.
Full implementation of the new regime will require a number of steps by the Government, including: the appointment of public interest directors to the College Board; setting the date for continuance (effective date the College becomes the regulator); and, the development of supporting regulations.

Our aim is to open the College as soon as possible, and the work is underway despite challenging circumstances during the pandemic.

Although Budget 2019 announced slightly higher amounts ($51.9M and $10.1M ongoing), these figures were later refined by the Department and focus on the three areas announced in the Budget: improving the regulation and oversight of consultants; strengthening compliance and enforcement measures; and supporting public awareness activities.

The decision not to have a Government office has been based on the following considerations:
The cost of such an office is significantly more than a self-regulatory model.
Inconsistent with the norms of professional regulators.
There is a lack of evidence that direct regulation by the Government would provide greater protection.
The perceived conflict of interest is higher as the Government is also making decisions on immigration and citizenship applicants.

The client demand for consultants is legitimate and not expected to disappear. Clients continue to use consultants for a variety of factors such as language barriers, lower costs than lawyers and help with paperwork. Deregulating consultants and having them work under lawyers would lead to other risks, including a potential increase in the number of unlicensed actors operating outside the regulatory regime.

Through the College Act, the federal government will gain significant levers for oversight of the new regulator. This includes a ministerial power to require the College Board to do anything to carry out the purpose of the Act and the establishment of a code of conduct to establish strong ethical and professional standards for which licensees will be held accountable.
The Act also enables the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to appoint a majority board of directors who are independent from the Government and not part of the consulting profession.

As per the Act, the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council has formally applied to be continued as the College.

As this matter is currently before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment on any legal proceedings.

Canada is investing $48.3M over four years and $9.8M ongoing for both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency to jointly deliver on this initiative.
These investments include resources for the Department to improve its ability to conduct investigations and to enable the Department to issue new administrative penalties; as well as more resources for the Canada Border Services Agency to pursue criminal investigations of complex cases related to immigration and citizenship consultants.
New investments will also go towards public education activities and targeted outreach, including to diaspora communities in Canada. Outreach positions are being established internationally to ensure that information is spread within those countries, including the consequences of using an unauthorized representative.
No government funding will go to the College. The College will be entirely funded through licensee fees set by the new College.

The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act (College Act) received Royal Assent in June 2019 as part of the Budget Implementation Act and came into force in December 2020. The purpose of the College Act is to improve how immigration and citizenship consultants are regulated across Canada.
The establishment of the College Act means that, for the first time, the regulator will be equipped with a statutory framework that provides for the responsibilities and authorities required to govern the profession and hold licensed consultants to high standards of professional and ethical conduct.
The initial Board of Directors of the new College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants will be composed of five ministerial appointees and four elected members (i.e. consultants).
In addition to establishing the new College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, new legislative amendments increased penalties for offences in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act relating to unauthorized advice and representation, to a maximum of $200,000 in fines or two years imprisonment.
New legislative amendments also provide regulation-making authority for the establishment of a system of administrative penalties – including monetary penalties – aimed at ensuring compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act by persons providing advice or representation.