WHAT'S NEW December 19 2003

Minister Proposes New Regulations For Immigration Consultants

The Honourable Judy Sgro, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), today announced proposed changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations pre-published in Part I of the Canada Gazette on December 13, 2003.

Should these regulations come into effect, the Government of Canada will only communicate with fee-charging representatives if they are members in good standing of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC) or a provincial or territorial law society. CSIC is the new independent, self-regulating body for immigration consultants that was incorporated on October 8, 2003.

"I am proposing these regulations to encourage immigration consultants to become members of CSIC," said Minister Sgro. "It is our hope that CSIC will give clients of CIC and the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) access to an accredited, qualified and ethical immigration consultant, while giving them a recourse mechanism if their consultant behaves unscrupulously."

The purpose of the proposed amendments is to define which representatives may or may not represent, advise or consult with a person in a proceeding before the IRB or in applying with CIC.

CIC and IRB clients are not obliged to hire a consultant or lawyer. However, should these regulations come into effect, people choosing to do so must engage a consultant or lawyer as defined by the new regulations. Under the proposed regulations, as of April 2004, clients who hire a representative who is not authorized would have their applications returned by CIC. Similarly, clients appearing before the IRB would be treated as unrepresented.

A client who has already hired a representative and submitted an application to CIC before April 2004 may continue to use the services of that representative until April 2008. Likewise, IRB clients who are already involved in proceedings may also continue to use the services of their representatives until April 2008.

Pre-publication provides a 30-day period for all Canadians to comment on the proposed regulations. Following pre-publication, the comments of stakeholders, parliamentarians and other interested parties will be considered and the regulations will be revised as necessary. The regulations will then be submitted for final government approval and published in their final form in Part II of the Canada Gazette prior to coming into force.

"The pre-publication of proposed regulations is an important part of the regulatory process and is the next step toward ensuring a fully self-regulating immigration consultant industry by April 2004," said the Minister.