Question Period Note: IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP CONSULTANTS

Measures taken to improve and strengthen the governance and regulation of the immigration consultants industry.

• The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants is an arm’s-length body mandated to regulate consultants that opened in 2021. The College has powers and tools to investigate professional misconduct and discipline consultants who engage in exploitative activities, both inside and outside Canada.
• In 2019, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Citizenship Act were amended to include the authority to create an administrative penalties and consequences regime focused on violations committed by those providing paid advice and representation on immigration or citizenship applications.
• The Department is currently drafting regulations with the Department of Justice to bring the regime into effect, and it is anticipated to take force in 2025.
• Despite delays brought on by the pandemic, IRCC has made significant progress in bringing the regime into effect. In addition, the creation of a robust regime that includes penalties is novel for the federal government and carries legal and privacy risks whose analysis and mitigation have required additional time.
If pressed:
• The College has raised the standards of the profession through actions such as the development of a mandatory mentoring program and the creation of a new class of licence for consultants who represent clients at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

• The Government of Canada continues to take meaningful action to identify and address immigration fraud, protect those who wish to come here, and uphold the security and integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
• Canada has taken decisive action to improve oversight and strengthen enforcement among consultants by investing $48.3 million over four years from 2020-21 to 2023-24 and $9.8 million ongoing.
• The establishment of the College Act means that, for the first time, the regulator is 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 College is a fundamentally different organization than the former Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), with expanded authorities necessary for the regulation of consultants and additional levers for government oversight to ensure strengthened outcomes.

• While the full implementation of the new regime for consultants requires the development by the Department of supporting regulations (anticipated in 2025), much has been accomplished to date, including
o the opening of the College in November 2021,
o the establishment of a code of professional conduct for licensees (which came into effect on June 10, 2022),
o the establishment of the board of directors, including five directors appointed by the Minister,
o the designation of a civil servant observer to the Board,
o legislative amendments to the College Act and to the administrative penalties and consequences regime under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act through Budget 2023, and
o the creation and staffing of five outreach positions in five
missions abroad to publicize the risks of using an unauthorized practitioner in local markets that have shown a keen interest in immigrating to Canada and where clients are at a higher risk of representative fraud (located in Abu Dhabi, Beijing, Bogota, Chandigarh and Lagos).

• The College has new and strengthened tools to investigate professional misconduct and discipline its licensees, including the ability to
o enter the premises of a consultant for the purpose of gathering information to support an investigation when it suspects wrongdoing,
o summon and compel witnesses to appear and testify before the Discipline Committee,
o suspend a consultant as a provisional measure prior to a finding of professional misconduct or incompetence—in situations where protection of the public is at risk; and
o suspend and revoke licences to practise as part of disciplinary decisions.

• With regard to unauthorized practitioners, the College has the power to
o send cease and desist letters ordering individuals who are not licensees of the College to stop their immigration consultant activities, and
o request court injunctions against individuals who are not licensees of the College.

• Next steps in implementation include
o a package of regulations to support new authorities of the College, and
o regulations for an administrative penalties and consequences regime administered by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (independent of the College).

Both sets of regulations are anticipated to take effect in 2025.

• As part of the initiative to improve the regulatory regime for immigration and citizenship consultants, Canada is also investing $48.3M over four years and $9.8M ongoing for both Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency.

• 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 (CBSA) to pursue investigations of complex criminal cases related to immigration and citizenship consultants.

• The CBSA and RCMP have authority to enforce the criminal provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act, respectively, which include representation-related offences such as unauthorized representation and counselling misrepresentation. IRCC continues to support enforcement partners in these efforts.

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