Evidence of meeting #57 for Citizenship and Immigration in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was iccrc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
Salma Zahid Liberal Scarborough Centre, ON
My next question is for Mr. Ottey.
Witnesses for our study have indicated that vulnerable and abused clients are fearful of coming forward to make a complaint against a consultant because it might jeopardize the status their immigration application.
What would you recommend to mitigate these fears and encourage the individuals to come out?
Director, Government Relations and Communications, LiUNA Local 183
There would need to be some degree of confidentiality and protection to prevent possible reprisals after a complaint. If there's a pending application by the person making the complaint, their application ought to be set aside and put on a separate track from the immigration consultant who is handling it.
Our members have told me of their fear that immigration consultants have contacts with so many different levels of the immigration process that it would be very easy for them to take a person's application and move it to the bottom of the pile. Even though that might not be the case, they feel that it's real. There needs to be some way to give them security that filing a complaint does not in any way jeopardize the process of their application. It would help if their application were segued off into a different process.
Director, Government Relations and Communications, LiUNA Local 183
That might encourage more upfront behaviour.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Borys Wrzesnewskyj
Thank you.
I would like to thank our panellists who appeared before the committee.
The second part of our hearing will be in camera. I notice there are quite a few people in the audience here today. As the second panel will be in camera, I request that everyone not taking part in that hearing leave the committee room at this time.
Thank you.
With that, I'll suspend.
[Proceedings continue in camera]