Evidence of meeting #32 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 39th Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was csic.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
CSIC does not want to provide us with a list of members, e-mail addresses, and things like that. CAPIC, the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants, does have a website, and on this website we can see our fellow members. That's how we try to find them.
Conservative
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
Do you want my personal opinion?
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
If I ran an organization like that, I would do whatever I could to keep these people away from each other. All of the immigration consultants could gang up on the board.
I mean, this organization has been run awfully. It's been horrible. We have had no input whatsoever. We pay a lot of money every year and they just do whatever they want. They fly here, they fly there, and they do not tell us the need for it. If they would tell us why they have to go and visit six countries in a year, if they would just tell us what the benefit is, then maybe we could understand. To me, it's more important that they do something about ghost consultants than fly all over the world.
Liberal
Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Thank you very much for coming forward and for saying what you have.
I surmise that essentially you're looking for accountability, transparency, and most of all democracy in what is supposed to be an organization of members. I'm sure you'll get unanimous support from the committee on that. We know that this has been an area of concern.
You mentioned that you're afraid, and I have a concern about that. If you're concerned that by testifying in front of the committee you might find yourself in their bad books, then I certainly want you to contact me or any other member of the committee if anything of that sort happens. We would very much want to watch to make sure that this does not happen.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
Thank you.
Liberal
Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
We have heard a number of complaints as we've gone across the country. We have asked people to work on the issue, and on possible solutions. I want to congratulate you, because the eight points you gave today were very good.
I'm not quite sure about your sixth point. I wonder if you can repeat that.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
Definitely I can. Our sixth recommendation is that all activities of CMI should cease and be handled by CSIC until such time as a special meeting of members can be convened to discuss and debate, and members can vote on the continuance or dissolution of a second organization.
Basically, CSIC has been put in place also to educate immigration consultants, but CSIC is a not-for-profit organization. All of a sudden, without telling us what they were doing, they sent us an e-mail that CMI had been created. Now we have to pay big fees there to get our education and things like that. We were expecting CSIC to do that for us, to educate us, to guide us, to handle all this, and now they have this second organization.
Basically, they made the board of CSIC also the board of CMI. The board members are in both organizations. It's very confusing.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
The Canadian Migration Institute; it's incorporated.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
A lot of money. I know that one of my colleagues was in front of you, explaining what they got paid exactly, but I would have to get that for you. I just did not put it in my speaking notes.
It's a lot of money. They charge almost for breathing. They get paid a lot of money to be a board member.
Liberal
Andrew Telegdi Liberal Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Is there some financial statement filed at the end of the year on how your funds are disbursed?
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
It was in 2005, I think, that we got a financial statement. However, we only got the numbers, not what they meant.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
No. We asked for an explanation and we did not get that.
Liberal
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
I might be. It's just, you know...it's just injustice.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
I think I've spent about $25,000 since 2003 to be a certified immigration consultant, if I add up all my annual fees, my exams--I had to do three exams to become a full member--and what we pay for seminars and things like that. Now they are forcing me to buy an $800 DVD of an event they had last year. Rules and regulations changed, and they still want me to buy this $800 DVD.
Canadian Certified Immigration Consultant; President, Eastern Canada Immigration and Job Consultants Inc.; As an Individual
Yes, definitely.
I have to buy what they call CPD points. I have to spend lots of money to buy these points. I speak in public quite a lot--sometimes for government, sometimes for the Rotary, sometimes for some commercial group. I do not get points for that. I see that as education. I'm trying to educate people on what immigration is. CSIC does not want to give me points for that. I can only buy my points. It's ridiculous.
