Mr. Tilson and respected committee members, my name is Cobus Kriek. I'm a member in good standing of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants. I'm also the owner of Matrixvisa Incorporated. Thank you for the opportunity to allow me to share my thoughts with you today. It is a privilege and an honour to be here.
I only have two suggestions. The first suggestion has to do with proposed subsection 91(1) of Bill C-35, and the second suggestion is about the definition of immigration law advice. I will start with my first suggestion about proposed subsection 91(1).
The proposed wording of subsection 91(1) reads that “...no person shall knowingly represent or advise a person for consideration...in connection with a proceeding or application” under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. I suggest that the wording be changed or expanded to include anyone who induces, aids, abets any ghost agent to directly or indirectly represent or advise for consideration under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Such a change would discourage a federal employee inside or outside Canada from accepting submissions from or communicating with an unauthorized ghost agent about immigration cases, which I have seen happening in 2010.
This brings me to my second suggestion on defining immigration law advice. Under the current dispensation, that is, in the pre-Bill C-35 era, it is perfectly legal and, one could say, ethical for anyone to provide certain immigration law advice without being a member of CSIC, the bar, or a public notary in Quebec.
I hold in my hand chapter “IP 9—Use of Representatives Paid or Unpaid” of the department's immigration manual. Paragraph 5.4 reads as follows:
...there are many individuals who receive payment for filling out forms and applications.... However, as these individuals do not meet the definition of an authorized representative, there are functions that they cannot perform. These functions include making interventions on behalf of the applicant during processing, and requesting information about the progress of the application. In order to make interventions and request information on behalf of the applicant during application processing, these individuals must be members of one of the regulatory bodies.
It is clear that CIC believes that immigration advisers only need to be authorized representatives when intervention is needed or inquiries are made. According to CIC, any immigration law advice given prior to an inquiry can be completed by anyone.
If an unauthorized representative or ghost agent is allowed to complete forms and applications, it implies that the unauthorized representative or ghost agent may provide advice about the appropriate immigration class, such as the investor class, federal entrepreneur class, federal skilled worker class, etc., as this activity would logically precede the completion of forms and applications. The completion of forms and applications would only be possible after an analysis of the person’s experience, education, and financial status.
It is very obvious that the completion of forms and applications is not merely an administrative action, but requires in-depth knowledge of immigration law. Consumers cannot be protected if any untrained person can assist a member of the public to complete immigration forms and applications.
On 18 October, Mr. Nigel Thomson mentioned before this committee that CSIC has about 1,600 to 1,700 ghost agents in its intelligence system at CSIC. Given the wording of chapter IP 9, which I have just read, many of these ghost agents are not in contravention of any act and are conducting their immigration work completely legally. The existence of ghost agents in the immigration law industry is directly related to the wording in the immigration manual's chapter IP 9, which I have read to you. This wording in turn is the result of the policy vacuum that exists in the current legislation, as immigration law advice is not defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or regulations.
In order to prevent the continued unauthorized practise of immigration law, it is suggested that the words “advise...under this act”--or immigration law advice-be clearly defined in Bill C-35 and not be left to be defined in the regulations. The following wording is suggested:
Advice would be any guidance offered by one person to another on any immigration matter where profit is directly or indirectly a result of the advice. Specific cases (not limited to): (a) Recruiters may not provide immigration advice or advise under the act; (b) Education agents may not provide immigration advice or advise under the act; (c) Recruiters for provincial nominees may not provide immigration advice or advise under the act; (d) Assistance with the completion of forms is also immigration advice or to advise under the act.
Specific examples in the act will prevent a misunderstanding of the intention of the lawmaker. Furthermore, specific examples are already being used as a technique in the case of immigration regulation 187(2).
It must be recognized that ethical recruiters who comply with provincial laws play an important and valuable role in the immigration process, both for permanent and for temporary entry. However, recruitment is a function related to human resources management, not immigration law. Recruiters are not trained in immigration law and the immigration activities of recruiters are not regulated to ensure the protection of the public.