Why Regulator Must Protect Immigrants

In the Report of the Advisory Committee on Regulating Immigration Consultants, the Committee noted that: "Most importantly, the public interest and the needs of immigrants and refugees would be kept at the forefront of the Committee's deliberations.". This report forms the basis for the establishment if the Canadian Society of immigration Consultants (CSIC).  One of the greatest challenges facing those involved in the self-regulation of immigration consultants is to place the public interest and the needs of immigrants and refugees at the forefront.  

The proposal to replace CSIC with ICCRC has nit placed at the forefront the public interest and the needs of immigrants and refugees.  Instead, the self-interest of immigration consultants, specifically those involved with CAPIC, have been at the forefront.  CAPIC is the immigration consultants' trade association that is now the proposed new regulator ICCRC.  

The public interest and the needs of immigrants and refugees is served by having high ethical and competency standards, and a fair and effective complaints and discipline mechanism for holding members accountable for misconduct.  The ICCRC has, as of now, no publicized rules or ethical standards, no paid Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements, and a complaints and discipline process that is under the control of ICCRC board, not independent experts knowledgeable of standards of professionalism.  

The emphasis of ICCRC is on the short-sighted needs of immigration consultants to lower costs, minimize standards to avoid harm to the members' business interests, and ensure ICCRC board members can control who and in what circumstances an immigration consultant is to be disciplined.  The result is in fact detrimental to the long-term interests of immigration consultants, who cannot compete on an equal footing with lawyers.  The Law Societies require high standards of professionalism and competency, have an independent disciplinary decision-making process, and possess a clear public protection mandate.  If you were an immigrant or refugee, would you choose to hire an immigration consultant with a regulator that protects immigration consultants, or one that protects immigrants?     
 

Hobbes: Life in Immigration Consulting Under ICCRC & Kenney is Nasty, Brutish & Short

The ICCRC offers deregulation of immigration consultants; chasing ghost consultants rather then effectively regulating and disciplining ICCRC members, minimal professional standards including no paid Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programs and entry of revoked CSIC Members, and ICCRC Board protection of friends who engage in misconduct, as final disciplinary decision-making lies with the ICCRC Board.  No rules of ethical conduct, no consumer protection provisions, and no procedural fairness in disciplinary decision-making.  Based on all publicly available information today, the rule of law is completely absent from ICCRC. 

Thomas Hobbes sets out the attributes of a society without government or law, referred to as the state of nature.  In such a state, people do not work hard, because they are unsure if their hard work will bear any positive results; people do not seek higher knowledge, because their future is uncertain; people live in continual fear in a state of "war of all against all".  "The life of man (is) solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."  According to Hobbes, we as people must give up some of our rights in exchange for the protection of a sovereign authority.  We are informed by Hobbes that we must accept abuse of power by those in a position of authority as the price to pay for living in a society without war.  

All of us involved on a day to day basis with immigration consulting are living in a metaphorical Hobbesian world.  Minister Kenney is the sovereign authority engaging in abuse of his power to the benefit of ICCRC/CAPIC for unknown reasons.  We are told by ICCRC/CAPIC that we must accept the Minister's authority, and his decision despite clear unequivocal evidence that the Minister abused his power to support friends of senior Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) officials such as Les Linklater.  

Those of us who have worked hard to improve the immigration consulting profession have had our hard work destroyed.  Seeking higher knowledge is not viable since the future of immigration consulting is uncertain. As a result of the power vested in the Minister of Immigration, especially through Bill C35, he may at any time get rid of the regulator without any need to justify his actions.   We live in fear as the war amongst immigration consultants is turned by the support of a Minister who seeks to exercise power arbitrarily without any need to answer to the allegations of acting against the public interest.  The life of an immigration consultant regulator, and of those involved in immigration consulting, is nasty, brutish, and short.

We know where ICCRC supporters stand.   They want their noses at the trough; to indulge in the power, riches and self-interest at the expense of protecting vulnerable immigrants and the Canadian public interest.  Those of us who outspokenly do not support ICCRC's self-interested power grab appear to be the lone voices in a world that does not care about the public interest or protecting immigrants.  Is there anyone else out there?