College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act
The CICC act, which is a component of the budget implementation bill presented on 8th April Monday, will see:
-The creation of a licencing regime and a code of professional conduct for all the immigration consultants.
-The authorization of the College’s Complaints Committee to perform investigations into the conduct and activities of a licensee.
-The authorization of the College’s Discipline Committee to demand or take action when it establishes that a licensee is guilty of professional misconduct or incompetence.
-The prohibition of individuals who aren’t licensees from taking up certain titles and falsely representing themselves as licensees, and the authorization of the College to seek an injunction for the disobedience of such prohibitions.
-The authorization of the immigration minister to determine the total number of directors on the B.O.D and to mandate the Board to do anything that’s advisable to conduct the aims of the Act.
-Handling of complaints associated with licensed members under the previous ICCRC.
-Double fining of licensees who are guilty of violating the set rules.
In previous times, there have been a number of concerns into the operations of the existing regulatory body, ICCRC, exposing an unethical organization beset with internal fighting and bad practices. One overwhelming concern is the issue of unregulated immigration consultants operating in Canada and abroad without sanction.
The existing legal structure doesn’t allow the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) to police consultants who are unlicensed within the country or overseas. As a result, the task of dealing with the issue is left to the CBSA, RCMP and the federal government. Several high-profile cases of fraud have ultimately made their way to the Canada legal system.
Canadian immigration candidates are advised to be cautious when seeking the services of an immigration consultant. Candidates who want to get legal representation should hire a competent immigration attorney, who’s monitored by a law society,
For the meantime, the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act is undergoing further inspection and approval before it is implemented. Thereafter, the Canada immigration minister will present new regulations, which will give more details on how CICC will work.
