ICCRC promises the following benefits to immigration consultants:
Lower membership fees. CSIC Members pay similar fees to those of lawyers. ICCRC has made a low ball offer of lower membership fees, a promise made to win the support of immigration consultants. These fees will likely go up in the future. However, you get what you pay for. Lower membership fees means fewer staff, and less capacity to effectively regulate. Why hire an immigration consultant rather than a lawyer who has a more robust regulatory body?
Free Continuing Professional Develoment (CPD). Again, you get what you pay for. Free CPD, and no mandatory courses means lower quality consultants theough ICCRC than the requirements of lawyers. Why hire an immigration consultant with a regulator that seeks to remove the professional standards that are deemed a burden to it's members, when you can hire a lawyer with higher professional standards that ensures the competency of it's members?
Going after Ghost Consultants rather than ensuring consumer protection from the Regulated Members. ICCRC claims they will go after ghosts, that is competitors to their members, while having a smaller staff than CSIC. ICCRC will have no jurisdiction over these ghost consultants, of course, and no investigative powers whatsoever. Why hire an immigration consultant whose regulatory body is focused on going after unregulated ghosts rather than the person you hire, when a lawyer has a regulator that will investigate the alleged misconduct of that lawyer if the consumer is wronged?
Who will be the Regulator of Immigration Consultants 5 years from now? CSIC is now the regulator. CSIC may continue as regulator for years depending on the judge's decision on CSIC's judicial review and stay applications. ICCRC may become regulator, but a new Immigration Minister will be able to replace ICCRC just as easily as Minister Kenney has chosen to replace CSIC. Will immigration consultants continue to be self-regulated, or will the government or Law Society take over in the future? Why hire an immigration consultant, not knowing who or if there will be a regulator 5 years from now to protect you, when you can hire a lawyer with a Law Society as regulator for 100 or so years?
The ICCRC's focus on appealing to immigration consultants by offering lower membership fees, lower education standards, going after ghost consultants rather than regulated members, and replacing CSIC as regulator obscures the long term implications to immigration consultants. Ignoring consumer protection and promoting the financial interests of immigration consultants now means ultimately that consumers will likely prefer to hire an immigration lawyer rather than an ICCRC member.
What is the difference between a ghost consultant and an ICCRC Member? Apparently, one is subject to criminal sanctions (if they have not become an agent of an ICCRC Member of course) while the other is simply a member of the ICCRC cartel. Why would a consumer prefer to hire a member of the ICCRC cartel rather than an immigration lawyer?
Each certified immigration consultant in the lower mainland is crook. They own and operate bigger offices than Canadian lawyers. One can easily buy a fake LMO or fake arranged employment by paying thousands of dollars to these regulated consultants.
ReplyDeleteUsually, these consultants never sit in their offices because they go door to door to meet employers and try to lure them that they bring their relative or friend free to Canada, if the employers stage fake jobs, so that they can sell those to potential immigrants or foreign workers in thousands of dollars. The regulatory body is sleeping. I personally informed CBSA about this matter but they have no interest. I believe the Minster of Immigration has given instructions to all the visa officers that if the person if representative by one of his crook organization, just issue visa and don't ask any questions. I took files to CBSA office in Vancouver to show that a handicapped person enter Canada on a job permit as WELDER but they hate to hear the truth. Immigration is government operated systematic scam. How Immigration Minister can justify that if a person charging a money to client; he/she must be member of his corrupt society. But friend or relative are allowed whether they are able to speak/write/read English and have any knowledge about immigration at all. This crook GOVT is greedy about money. The society mission is to protect Canadians but people coming from other countries are not Canadians. How the hell this dictatorial govt. can impose their laws to people lives in other countries.