Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
My name is François Guilbault and I am Senior General Counsel for the IRB. I have a short presentation on the IRB's past policy and on its current policy for dealing with authorized and unauthorized representatives.
The regulations as adopted prescribe two types of representatives who may appear before the IRB: authorized representatives who may or may not charge a fee for their services, and unpaid representatives, or pro bono counsel, as we refer to them, who do not charge a fee.
Since the coming into force of the regulations, the Board has taken a number of steps. It has adjusted its forms, letters and other public information to refer to the regulations and related requirements for counsel identification. Pursuant to the IRB regulations, an applicant is required to identity the authorized counsel who will be representing him. As soon as this information is provided, the Board verifies that the person who is supposed to be acting in the interest of the applicant is in fact an authorized representative, that is either a member of the bar of a province, a notary with the Chambre des notaires du Québec or a consultant with the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants. In the absence of confirmation, the Board informs the applicant that he cannot have an unauthorized representative as counsel.
The IRB has since introduced the Policy for Handling IRB Complaints Regarding Unauthorized Paid Representatives that clearly explains to applicants, our partners, how IRB regulations are applied. This policy is enforced when an unauthorized representative wishes to act as counsel for an applicant in an IRB proceeding. In practise this means that when a person who is the subject of an IRB proceeding is represented by counsel who is not charging a fee, the Board investigates this authorized representative to ensure that he is in fact working pro bono, and is not being paid.
In short, if we discover that this individual is being paid for his services, in violation of the regulations, we simply order him not to appear at the IRB proceedings. The refugee claimant and the applicant will then be asked to choose alternative counsel. This can happen at any time, either before or after the proceedings. However, I can assure you that all IRB personnel, whether decision-makers, clerks or support staff, are very knowledgeable about who is authorized to act as counsel under the regulations. We act accordingly to prevent cases where people claiming refugee status or applying to immigrate are represented by unauthorized counsel.
I will stop there to allow you more time to put questions to us or to our partners. I have given you an overview of the workings of the IRB's regulations and policy aimed at preventing unauthorized representatives from acting as counsel for applicants in IRB proceedings.
Thank you for your attention. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have at this time.