Executive summary
The report urges the Minister to fully exercise authority under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) to recognize the right to counsel and ensure that any paid counsel is regulated across the widest possible range of immigration and citizenship applications and proceedings, including those before IRCC, CBSA, and the IRB. It calls for clear regulations defining who may practise, distinguishing licensed immigration consultants and lawyers from unpaid “other representatives,” and requiring Canadian missions abroad to interact only with authorized counsel to protect applicants and system integrity. To ensure public protection, it recommends a statutory self-regulatory body with powers to license, set standards, discipline, require liability insurance, maintain a compensation fund, and operate bilingually, with a transparent application and complaints process accessible in multiple languages. In 2025, this vision is largely realized by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (the College), a statutory regulator created under the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, with ministerial oversight levers, a prescribed Code of Professional Conduct, and increased penalties in IRPA and the Citizenship Act for unauthorized paid advice and representation. The report emphasizes outreach by IRCC and the IRB to ensure only authorized representatives are accepted and that accurate public information is widely available in Canada and abroad, a practice now entrenched in program delivery and tribunal rules including IRB requirements for consultant licensure class when appearing before the Board.
Chapter 1: Introduction
The Committee was convened in 2002 to recommend how Canada should regulate immigration consultants, reflecting concerns across the ecosystem—lawyers, consultants, NGOs, academics, and enforcement—about uneven quality, fraud risks, and harm to applicants and program integrity. Its membership included experienced practitioners, academics, NGO leaders, and officials, who gathered written and oral submissions and studied Canadian and international models, producing a consensus report focused on the public interest and national credibility of the immigration system.
Chapter 1: Method and history
The Committee invited broad submissions, consulted federal departments and agencies, and reviewed prior studies and cases such as Law Society of British Columbia v. Mangat, while assessing persistent risks, including unscrupulous “ghost” consultants operating domestically and abroad. It concluded that while Canada cannot police every overseas advisor, it can determine with whom it does business, set enforceable standards for authorized counsel, and refuse to interact with unauthorized paid representatives in Canada and at missions overseas.
Chapter 2: Legal framework
The report analyzes federal authority to regulate representation connected to immigration and refugee matters under IRPA, the double-aspect and paramountcy doctrines, and how federal rules can designate who may act as paid counsel for proceedings and applications. Today, IRPA section 91 prohibits unauthorized paid representation or advice at any stage of an application or proceeding and limits paid services to lawyers, Québec notaries, designated paralegals, and members of a designated body—now the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.
Chapter 2: Defining counsel and extraterritoriality
“Counsel” is defined as lawyers and licensed immigration consultants, while unpaid “other representatives” may provide help without compensation and thus fall outside the prohibition on paid advice in IRPA section 91. The framework recognizes practical limits on extraterritorial enforcement but asserts federal control over whom IRCC, the IRB, and missions abroad will recognize, which—combined with a statutory regulator—enables effective gatekeeping and compliance leverage.
Chapter 3: Model regulatory framework
The Committee compared international models, notably Australia’s MARA and the UK’s OISC, identifying features like statutory footing, competence standards, disciplinary systems, and public registers that support public protection and professionalization. It recommended a Canadian statutory self-regulator with ministerial oversight, public-interest mandate, transparent governance, competency-based entry, and robust disciplinary and compensation mechanisms, which are now core features of the College’s regime.
Chapter 3: Options for Canada
The preferred option was a statutory college authorized by federal law to license, regulate, and discipline consultants, with clear admission pathways and a bilingual, public-facing orientation to protect consumers and uphold system integrity. The College Act delivers this option by creating the College in law, empowering regulations and a minister-prescribed Code of Professional Conduct, and enabling oversight tools to ensure the regulator carries out its public-interest mandate.
Chapter 4: Who is regulated
Regulation covers individuals providing paid immigration and citizenship advice and representation, distinguishing them from unpaid representatives such as family or NGO workers who provide assistance without compensation. By 2025, authorized paid representatives include lawyers and Québec notaries in good standing, paralegals where recognized, and College licensees (RCICs and related license classes), with tribunal-specific authorizations for appearances before bodies like the IRB.
Chapter 4: Prerequisites and qualifications
The Committee endorsed a DACUM occupational analysis to define duties and competencies, which informs curricula and competency frameworks for entry, specialization, and continuing development. It recommended character and police checks, accredited education and testing, levels of practice tied to experience and scope, continuing professional education, and language proficiency in an official language assessed through third-party testing, which align with the modern College regime’s standards and code.
Chapter 4: Education, CPD, and languages
A national education program administered through authorized providers with standardized examinations was proposed to ensure consistent competence at entry, continued through mandatory CPD to keep pace with evolving law and policy. Language proficiency requirements support client protection and procedural fairness, a theme reflected in the College’s Code and public-interest standards that expect licensees to practice competently within licensed scopes and communicate effectively.
Chapter 4: Discipline and code of conduct
The report proposed an independent disciplinary body with accessible procedures, confidentiality safeguards, and a spectrum of sanctions modeled on established professional regulators, along with a public-facing Code of Conduct. In 2025, a minister-prescribed Code of Professional Conduct applies to all College licensees, enforced by the College with investigatory and disciplinary tools to uphold competence, ethics, conflicts management, and client protection.
Chapter 4: Offences and disqualification
Statutory offences were recommended to address unauthorized practice and misconduct, including referral to law enforcement where appropriate, to deter fraud and protect applicants. IRPA section 91 now provides offences and penalties for unauthorized paid representation, with legislative amendments increasing penalties and enabling administrative monetary penalties to strengthen compliance.
Chapter 5: Powers of the regulatory body
The Committee recommended powers to investigate, compel documents, refuse membership, caution, fine, suspend, revoke, ban, and refer to law enforcement, alongside mandatory liability insurance and a compensation fund. The College Act establishes a statutory framework for licensing, governance, regulation, and discipline, coupled with the minister’s oversight levers and a prescribed Code, positioning the regulator to act decisively in the public interest.
Chapter 6: Implementation and transition
The report outlined seed funding, staffing, and administrative foundations for a new regulator, with a plan to transition existing practitioners through grandfathering tied to minimum standards, timelines, and recertification. Canada implemented transitional pathways over the 2011–2021 period culminating in the statutory College’s launch in November 2021, which now regulates consultants domestically and abroad under federal authority.
Chapter 6: Resources and operations
Physical infrastructure, staffing for registration, investigations and hearings, a compensation fund, and operating capital were identified as essential to stability and public confidence, with bilingual service delivery as a core requirement. In the current regime the College operates on licensee fees, maintains public registers and governance instruments, and implements by-laws, regulations, and policies foundational to ongoing regulatory operations.
Chapter 7: Roles and responsibilities
IRCC and the IRB should accept only authorized counsel, publish clear information about authorized representatives, and maintain active channels with the regulator, law societies, RCMP, and other agencies for coherent enforcement and outreach. By 2025, this coordination is embedded in program delivery and tribunal practice, including IRB requirements for specific CICC license classes to appear before the Board and routine verification of authorized status.
Chapter 7: Public protection and outreach
Public-facing verification, free access to member status, and multilingual materials are essential to prevent fraud and empower consumers to choose authorized counsel, complemented by NGO exemption when offering services at no cost. Modern guidance consistently advises applicants to verify representatives against public registers and declares that using unauthorized paid representatives can result in application refusal or enforcement actions under IRPA.
Chapter 8: Urgent call to action
The Committee framed regulation as essential to protect vulnerable applicants, uphold the integrity of Canada’s immigration system, and maintain national security and economic interests in the face of predatory practices and document fraud. That imperative underpins the College’s statutory design and today’s strict IRPA section 91 controls, higher penalties, and code-based discipline, ensuring the system deals only with accountable, competent professionals.
Appendices
Appendix A lists organizations and individuals who provided submissions, underscoring broad stakeholder engagement across professional, governmental, and community sectors. Appendix B provides the DACUM analysis used to define occupational duties and competencies for curriculum and assessment design, a foundation for standardized professional education. Appendix C catalogs key background materials including international models, regulatory analyses, and case law relevant to federal authority and professional self-regulation in immigration practice.
2025 alignment highlights
- Statutory regulator: The College functions under the College Act with ministerial oversight tools and a prescribed Code of Professional Conduct.
- Authorized representatives: IRPA section 91 confines paid immigration/citizenship advice and representation to lawyers, Québec notaries, designated paralegals, and College licensees.
- Tribunal requirements: The IRB requires specific consultant licence classes to appear, enhancing consumer protection in adjudicative forums.
- Stronger penalties: Legislative amendments increased fines and imprisonment for unauthorized practice and enabled administrative monetary penalties.