The Empty Suit: ICCRC & Harper's Pretending to Protect Immigrants and Refugee Act

The ICCRC was sold to the public as the proposed new regulator of immigration consultants who Minister Kenney claimed "...will provide better transparency, openness and accountability to protect the Canadian public - especially those using the services of an immigration consultant." Interestingly, the ICCRC's website provides no information on what rules, policies, or by-laws will be put in place to ensure the competency and ethics of it's members: "Upon the coming into force of the Regulations, measures will be put in place to protect all individuals who may use the services of immigration consultants." What measures will be put into place?  No one knows.  ICCRC, Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Minister may not even know!  Despite claims of transparency, openness and accountability to the Canadian public, the ICCRC is an unknown entity, whose standards are not publicized or accessible to any member of the public.  

Some lofty claims have been made to suggest the ICCRC will go after ghost consultants (despite lacking jurisdiction or power over non-members); will ensure ethics and competency of it's members (with unknown rules, and no requirements to complete specific paid education programs to maintain standards); and will promote program integrity (not consumer protection in the public interest, but program integrity in CIC's interests).  The ICCRC is thus an immigration body, part of CIC, and not a regulatory body, independent from the government; and thus it is favorable to the interests of the government over vulnerable immigrants and refugees.  

The ICCRC is, based on all publicly available information, an Empty Suit.  The proposed new regulator offers only the most rudimentary appearance of being a regulator.  The body exists only to promote the appearance that the government of Canada and Minister Kenney care about protecting immigrants.  Truthfully, the government of Canada, Minister Kenney, and CIC, care only about keeping out the queue jumpers.  The Immigrant and Refugee Protection Act should more appropriately be named the Pretending to Protect Immigrants and Refugee Act under the Harper Government.   

The Harper government, Minister Kenney, and CIC, care only about the appearance of protecting the public interest; there is no protection for immigrants or refugees under the CPC.   The ICCRC has no more interest in protecting immigrants or refugees, except to the extent that they can become rich off their vulnerability.  The country club of immigration consultants under ICCRC will ensure their own financial interests are protected, while immigrants continue to get ripped off by the crooked consultants.