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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 1, 2010
OTTAWA – The Canadian Bar Association’s (CBA) National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section welcomes legislative changes that would extend the prohibition against unregulated immigration consultants contained in Bill C-35, Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act.
“These changes are essential to combat unauthorized or ‘ghost’ consulting," says the CBA’s National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section. “The lack of enforcement in this area has led to a proliferation of incompetent and unethical consultants with no accountability and no recourse for their victims.”
In its 11-page submission, the CBA notes that the problems extend far beyond ghost consultants and rest firmly in the lack of proper regulation. “The social, financial and emotional costs to vulnerable immigrants, as well as the negative impact on the integrity of the immigration system and public confidence generally, can no longer be tolerated.”
In the six years since it was created, the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC) has been an ineffective regulator, says the CBA. “Under the current regime, unscrupulous consultants and ghost consultants have been allowed to flourish within and outside Canada,” says the CBA brief. “CSIC has been mired in allegations of financial mismanagement and their members and other consultants have been the subject of high profile charges of fraud and abuse.”
The CBA suggests that in light of the experience of Canada and other countries in attempting to regulate consultants, the preferred approach is one that allows only members of provincial and territorial law societies and the Chambre des Notaires du Québec to represent and advise immigrants. The CBA further recommends that if consultants are permitted to provide immigration services for a fee, it is imperative that they are properly regulated.
“If the government chooses to continue to allow consultants to provide immigration services, they must be effectively regulated by a body over which the government has the appropriate oversight,” says the CBA submission. “Whether it is possible to effectively regulate consultants and if so, how to accomplish it, are complex issues with potentially significant administrative and financial implications.”
Chantal Arsenault and Michael Greene, a former chair of the CBA’s Section, will present the CBA views to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration for Bill C-35, on Monday, Nov. 1, 2010, at 3:30 pm, in Room 253D, Centre Block.
The Canadian Bar Association is dedicated to support for the rule of law, and improvement in the law and the administration of justice. Some 37,000 lawyers, law teachers, and law students from across Canada are members.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Hannah Bernstein
The Canadian Bar Association
Tel: 613-237-2925 x 146
E-mail: hannahb@cba.org
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