Question Period Note: IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP CONSULTANTS

Measures to protect individuals from unscrupulous consultants who prey on their lack of knowledge of Canadian laws and regulations.

• The Government of Canada takes any kind of citizenship or immigration fraud seriously and is dedicated to protecting prospective newcomers from those who try to take advantage of them.

• The Government is establishing a new, stronger professional regulator, which will have the power and tools it needs for vigorous oversight, investigations and the means to discipline fraudulent immigration and citizenship consultants to hold them accountable for their actions.

• The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants is anticipated to open in 2021, providing the tools to investigate professional misconduct and discipline its licensees. It will also be subject to significant government oversight to ensure public protection.

• On March 19, 2019, the Government tabled Budget 2019, which included $51.9 million over five years, starting in 2019-20, and $10.1 million ongoing, to improve oversight of immigration and citizenship consultants and strengthen compliance and enforcement measures. It also supports public awareness activities that help vulnerable newcomers and applicants protect themselves against fraudulent consultants. These measures also help to ensure that all applicants who choose to use a consultant will have access to quality immigration and citizenship advice, and that those who are providing the services operate in a professional and ethical manner, with disciplinary measures in place should fraud or misrepresentation occur.

• In addition, the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants 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 legislation creates a new self-regulatory regime for immigration and citizenship consultants, making the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants the official regulator of consultants across the country, and equipping the regulator, for the first time, 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.

• The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act (College Act) came into force on Nov. 20. This Act will provide a statutory framework to regulate immigration and citizenship consultants, and will make the upcoming College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (College) the official regulator of immigration and citizenship consultants across the country.

• The new College will be a fundamentally different organization than the current Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), with expanded authorities necessary for the regulation of immigration consultants and additional levers for government oversight to ensure strengthened regulatory outcomes.
• For the government, this includes the authority to:
o establish a code of professional conduct for licensees;
o make regulations concerning governance of the College;
o set the composition of the Board of Directors and appoint up to a majority of Directors;
o designate a civil servant observer to the Board;
o appoint a temporary administrator to act in place of the Board if necessary; and
• review the activities of the regulator and direct the body – should it become necessary – for example by requiring it to make, amend or repeal a by-law.

• Governing the regulation of consultants through a statute mandates consumer protection as the primary purpose of the regulator, and helps to ensure that immigration and citizenship consultants operate in a professional and ethical manner. The statute gives the College new tools to ensure compliance, including the ability to enter the premises of a consultant for investigations when it suspects wrongdoing and the ability to request court injunctions against unauthorized consultants. It also strengthens the regulator’s ability to discipline members of the profession. The statute also provides for strengthened government oversight of the regulator, with mandated reporting requirements, Ministerial appointment of up to a majority of the Board of Directors; and power to require the Board to do anything the Minister deems advisable to carry out the purposes of the Act.

• In addition, under the new legislation the College will be required to establish a fund to compensate people who are adversely affected by the conduct of licensed immigration and citizenship consultants.

To punish and deter illegal behaviour, the new legislation 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 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.

• The mandate letter released in December 2019 highlights the need to “advance the full implementation of the new professional governance regime for immigration and citizenship consultants under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, bringing strengthened government oversight and new compliance and enforcement tools into effect.”

• The Government will work closely with the current regulator, the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council, on plans to transition to the new framework while limiting disruption to authorized consultants and their clients.

• We will be implementing these new measures over the coming months, including deploying more resources for public education to clients abroad, enabling more criminal investigations by the Canada Border Services Agency, and establishing necessary regulatory provisions.

• Next steps in implementation include:
o Appointment of public interest directors to the board of the new College;
o New Code of Conduct for licensees of the College;
o Package of regulations to support new authorities of the College.
o Regulations for an administrative penalties and consequences regime administered by IRCC.

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