Question Period Note: Immigration and Citizenship Consultants

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

• The Government is dedicated to protecting prospective newcomers from those who try to take advantage of them.
• A key part of the government’s efforts to fight fraud is the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, established to regulate consultants and protect the public.
• In 2026, we are introducing regulations to further define the structure and operations of the College. This will improve the College’s ability to regulate consultants in the public interest.
• We are also introducing penalties and consequences for people who break the law while providing paid advice or representation on immigration or citizenship applications.

If pressed:
• These new rules will strengthen discipline for consultants, expand the public register of licensed consultants, and improve how the college investigates those who break the rules, while also setting clear rules for the compensation fund so victims of dishonest acts by consultants can be repaid for financial losses.

• In 2019, the Government of Canada announced a new governance regime for immigration and citizenship consultants. This included the coming into force of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act (the College Act) in 2020 and the establishment of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (the College) in 2021.
• The College Act provides the College the statutory framework required to license and govern immigration and citizenship consultants practising in Canada and abroad. The College regulates immigration and citizenship consultants in the public interest and protects the public. It 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 an immigration and citizenship 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 request court injunctions against individuals who are not licensees of the College. It has taken unprecedented action by shutting down over 5,000 social media pages operated by unauthorized practitioners. The College also runs an annual Fraud Prevention Month campaign to encourage the use of its public register to verify whether an immigration and citizenship consultant is licensed.
• IRCC maintains strong oversight over the College to ensure public protection. As part of this oversight, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (the Minister) established the Code of Professional Conduct for licensees. The Minister also sets the composition of the College’s board of directors (the Board) and can appoint the majority of directors. The Minister also designates a civil servant observer at the meetings of the Board.
• On March 7, 2026, three Board members were reappointed for a two-year term (Mr. Timothy D’Souza, Rev. Jennifer Henry, and Mr. Ben Rempel). Two new members were appointed following a merit based selection process for a two-year term (Mr. Marc Spector, Ms. France Houle). The Board includes nine directors in total. The Minister appoints five directors, while four licensed immigration and citizenship consultants are elected by their peers. The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Regulations build on the foundation of the College Act. The new regulations will set out the detailed requirements necessary to fully operationalize the intent of the College Act, improving the overall effectiveness of the governance framework.
• Next steps in the implementation of the governance regime for immigration and citizenship consultants include
o the coming into force of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Regulations to support the authorities of the College (July 15, 2026), and
o the coming into force of the Regulations Amending the Citizenship Regulations (Administrative Penalties and Consequences) and the Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Administrative Penalties and Consequences) for an administrative penalties and consequences regime administered independently of the College by IRCC (anticipated in 2026).
• Both draft regulations were pre-published for comment in the Canada Gazette on December 21, 2024.
• Additionally, 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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