CIMM - Consultants

Key Messages

• Canada is taking decisive action to protect both the public and consultants in good standing from dishonest consultants who are taking advantage of vulnerable people.
• As set out in my mandate letter and in Budget 2019, we are moving forward with full implementation of the new regime governing immigration and citizenship consultants.
• Budget 2019 provides $51.9M over 5 years, and $10.1M per year ongoing.

Supplementary Messages

• In addition, we have established, for the first time, a legislative framework to regulate this profession. Unlike the current regulator, the College will be a fundamentally different organization. It will have
  • strengthened authorities including strong governance and oversight;
  • investigative powers to support complaints and discipline processes;
  • power to compel witnesses to appear before the Discipline Committee;
  • power to suspend and/or revoke licenses to practice as part of disciplinary decisions; and
  • power to seek court injunctions against unauthorized consultants.
• We look forward to establishing a new, stronger professional regulator in the form of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

Supporting Facts And Figures

Budget 2019:

• Budget 2019 included $51.9M over five years, starting in 2019-2020, and $10.1M ongoing, to improve oversight of immigration and citizenship consultants and strengthen compliance and enforcement measures.
• In particular, Budget 2019 includes 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.
• Budget 2019 also proposed resources for public education activities and targeted outreach, including to diaspora communities in Canada. Outreach positions have been established internationally to ensure that information is spread within those countries, including the consequences of using an unauthorized representative.

Background

College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act:

• The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act (College Act) received Royal Assent in June 2019 as part of the Budget Implementation Act 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 consultants to high standards of professional and ethical conduct.
• In addition to establishing the new College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, the College Act increases 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 and/or 2 years imprisonment.
• The new legislation also provides 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.

Regarding why there isn’t a government office, as recommended by CIMM in 2017, instead of a self-regulating regime for consultants.

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

Regarding how the new regulator is an improvement over the current regulator.

• Through the College Act, the federal government will also gain significant levers for oversight of the new regulator – including Ministerial appointments of up to a majority of Board Directors, who will be independent and not consultants, and ministerial power to require the Board to do anything to carry out the purpose of the Act; and the establishment of a code of professional conduct for the consultant profession which will establish strong ethical and professional standards for which licensees will be held accountable in the context of the College’s complaints and discipline regime.

Regarding why consultants are not deregulated leaving only lawyers authorized to provide immigration advice and representation.

• 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 risk for an increase of ghost consultants.