Thank you, Madam Chair.
Madam Chair and committee members, thank you for the invitation. I will just give you a friendly reminder: I have been before this committee on several occasions, and I am legally blind, so I would appreciate your mentioning things to me by voice. Thank you.
Thank you for the information and invitation regarding foreign students being exploited by the system.
This subject is of the utmost importance, and it’s one that everyone needs to address.
First, as the professional association of about 5,000 licensed immigration consultants, CAPIC recommends avoiding the terms “ghost consultants” and “ghost immigration consultants” and any variation of these. Through this committee, it went to Parliament, and section 77 of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act has clearly identified “immigration consultant” and “citizenship consultant” as being terms that cannot be used outside of this parameter.
Those who are not licensed to practise are named by the law societies, by the college, by IRCC, and by CAPIC and other stakeholders as being unauthorized practitioners, UAPs. Using the terms “ghost immigration consultant” or “ghost consultants” or other terms within that consultant terminology inside the immigration system.... The people are known. We know where they are. We know their addresses. We know who they are, so they're not ghosts and they're not consultants at all. They can be called UAPs.
The immigration consultant profession is enshrined in the law under the college act, and those who are licensed deserve to be called immigration and citizenship consultants as per the law, unlike those who provide unauthorized advice. It is critical for consistency and accuracy that proper terms be used across the board by this committee, the media and other stakeholders.
As such, immigration consultants should be properly recognized, especially under paragraph 77(c) of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act, to put a stop to misleading the public in this regard.
I'll hand it over now to Monica, who will be addressing the other points within the five minutes.
Thanks, Madam Chair.