Citizenship and Immigration Committee on April 15th, 2008

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

I want to be sure I have understood correctly. You say that foreign temporary workers pay fees to your recruiting agency, which helps them with the process.

[John Robison]

Yes, that's correct.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

There is a fine line between recruiting and consulting. Even outside Canada, you have to be a member of CSIC to do immigration consulting. How do you go about drawing that line and making it clear that the charges are only for recruiting and not in any way for consulting?

As soon as we talk about helping an immigrant with the settlement process, we are getting very close to the work a consultant does.

[John Robison]

First of all, you could say that a recruitment person is also a recruitment consultant. Yes, that's a fact. The distinction should be between a recruitment consultant and an immigration consultant. Only a CSIC member or a recognized member of the bar can represent someone for immigration purposes.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Is that distinction in the Act? We are in the process of studying the Act, and we see that it is often not very clear.

Personally, I don't remember, but you may be more familiar with it: is there a distinction between recruiting consultant and immigration consultant, with good clear definitions?

[John Robison]

Yes, I would think so. If you refer to the processes followed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and also Service Canada, you'll find that Service Canada has made very clear provisions for recruitment specialists to become involved in the work permit and labour market application processes. Where representation is required for immigration purposes is where the distinction comes.

By the way, I understand fully the reasons for that. We'll all have our opinions on how successful it's been, which is really another chapter. But there is a very real need in the industry, at least in this part of the country, for individuals to help trucking companies in their recruitment efforts, and that's where I fit in--not only for transportation companies, but for others as well.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

You talked about consultants for immigration purposes, and it is that part that is regulated, in your view.

To your mind, is helping a worker get a temporary work visa part of the immigration aspect or not?

[John Robison]

No.

I'm working with a transportation or trucking company in helping with the tasks of getting an individual here as a temporary foreign worker, which means collecting documentation; doing some human resource work; checking references, etc.; applying for a labour market opinion, if so requested by the employer; and just making sure the documentation is very clear and complete when they come here.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

I understood that. You have talked about the question and you have explained your work well, but I am trying to get a better understanding of the general situation.

You talked about the restriction. In your view, immigration consultants provide representation for immigration purposes. To your mind, do you include helping a temporary worker who wants to settle here, and the work done to help him or her go through all the steps, in the immigration aspect? In your view, is that work part of the immigration process, which is supposed to be done solely by consultants who belong to CSIC? To your mind, because those steps precede permanent residence, are they excluded from that process? In that case, anybody at all could get involved in helping visa applicants.

[John Robison]

The question is probably better asked of an immigration consultant than of me. But I will do whatever I can to help that individual settle properly in the new job, the community, and in their role. I believe that close to everyone in the transportation industry who comes here is seeking to become a permanent resident. If they ask how to access the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website, I'll very definitely show them. I'll give them copies of the process. I cannot legally represent them in the process, and I choose not to.

[Thierry St-Cyr, Bloc, Jeanne-Le Ber, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Norman Doyle]

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Robison, for being here today. Please be assured that your submission will be taken into consideration when we do our recommendations to the government.

The meeting is adjourned. Thank you.