I will go first. It's my pleasure.
Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for inviting me to speak before you today. My name is Maria Yvonne Javier. I was a programs director for Multicultural Helping House Society, a non-profit service provider for immigrant settlement and employment services. As an agency, we helped hundreds of immigrants settle in and adjust to their new lives in Canada. Those were the happy stories.
However, we also encountered immigrants and migrant workers who were deceived by what we now refer to as “ghost consultants”. Let me tell you how this happens.
There is immigrant or migrant worker A. That's me. I went to the website, downloaded the forms, filled them out, and submitted them. I'm here without any help from anyone. Then there's immigrant or migrant worker B, who needs an immigration consultant because they don't understand the forms, or they are rich and just want someone else to do it, or they are almost--but not quite--qualified, so they need a creative mind to help them.
A ghost consultant is defined as somebody who is not registered but is giving advice for a fee. The fees could run from $5,000 to $10,000--or even more, depending on how complex the case is. Bill C-35, as I understand it, hopes to eliminate this ghost consultant, who I would like to call “Casper”. He may be a ghost, but he's friendly; this is only business, and there is no swindling involved.
Now let me introduce you to immigrant or migrant worker C, who comes to Canada through a ghost consultant, not Casper, the friendly ghost, but a mean ghost, or a ghost recruiter with a ghost employer and ghost documents. This ghost is also a magician and can magically produce documents that look authentic enough to pass the scrutiny of Immigration and CBSA officers. Once immigrant C is outside the airport, the magician's assistant appears out of nowhere, gives him some Canadian dollars, retrieves all the ghost documents, and disappears into thin air. Immigrant C never sees this person again and doesn't even know the name of the person.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is the new ghost: not Casper, the friendly ghost, but a real, live monster. This is not an unscrupulous consultant who charges exorbitant fees; this is a major swindler.
The registered immigration consultants and your so-called ghost consultants, my Casper, are all waiting in fear to see how the bill will affect them. But this new ghost I described doesn't even care what you do, because these new ghosts are nameless and faceless, and believe me, none of the victims will give them up. They will be ghosts as long as there are desperate people who will pay anything to get to Canada. They will be there because the recession has made Canadian employers bold enough to hire illegals and pay under the table.
I'm not expecting you to eliminate this new ghost: a single bill will not do this. These people are experts, with years of experience bringing illegal immigrants to the U.S. and Europe. I just want you to understand that we are not talking about $10,000 here. This is a multi-million-dollar scam. The people I encountered said that there were 10 of them and they were the pilot project. That was in 2009. This is now the end of 2010.
I wouldn't be surprised if by now they have brought in 100 people who have each paid $10,000. That's $1 million. Your fine is $50,000. These ghosts are making a mockery out of our immigration system and have made a fool out of every legal immigrant who had to go through the tedious process. Your jail term is two years. These are not unscrupulous consultants; let's not give them nice names. These are major swindlers. Call them what they really are: criminals.
This is not to say that you should not pass the bill. If you truly believe in your hearts that this bill will eliminate the Caspers of this world, then go right ahead and pass the bill, but understand that Casper is what we call a small fish, and don't forget the big sharks. I have seen far too many heartbroken fellow Filipinos innocently deceived by these new ghosts.
Although I no longer work for Multicultural Helping House, I remain an advocate for this cause. I have put up a company, 1-800-Godmother, with me being the godmother they can run to for help. I will no longer sit back and watch this happen.
While I cannot stop the ghosts myself, I can make sure that the victim recognizes a ghost when they see one. I may be a Canadian citizen now, but I am still a Filipino, and a lot of these victims are my countrymen.
I am here before you today to respectfully request you to please find it in your hearts to understand that these people are victims. If we cannot run after the ghosts, if the ghost documents are so good that our own immigration and CBSA officers cannot tell the difference between a ghost document and a real one, then let us not take it out on the victims and send them back home.
I cannot offer you a solution. This problem has existed for decades in the U.S. and Europe. Canada is the new dreamland, so it's Canada's turn. Maybe this is the price we have to pay for being a better dreamland than the U.S.
Ladies and gentlemen, the future of these ghost consultants and their victims is in your hands. All I can ask at this point is for you to show a little compassion to the victims and show no mercy to the criminal ghost consultants.
Thank you for your time.