2002-32

MINISTER ANNOUNCES CREATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON THE IMMIGRATION CONSULTING INDUSTRY

OTTAWA, October 03, 2002 -- Following up on his commitment to address problems within the immigration consulting industry, the Honourable Denis Coderre, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced the creation of an advisory committee to identify specific concerns and provide recommendations for his consideration.

"Some individuals seeking to immigrate to Canada place their trust with immigration consultants they hire to assist with the process," said Minister Coderre. "Unfortunately, there are people in the industry who take advantage of this trust for their own profit or who mismanage the process to their clients' detriment. Practices like these are unacceptable and the advisory committee is a positive first step in working toward addressing them."

The role of the committee, which will operate at arm's length from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration, will be to identify the various problems within the immigration consulting industry -- both in Canada and abroad -- and to propose options to the Minister.

"The advisory committee membership will be representative of Canadian organizations with an interest in the immigration consulting industry," said Committee Co-chair Benjamin Trister, Past Chair of the National Citizenship and Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association. "I am pleased with the opportunity to participate in such an important initiative."

"Since this issue has been of great concern to non-governmental organizations, we are very encouraged by this first step in a process that will lead to qualified representation for immigrants and refugees (or people seeking refugee status)," added Co-chair Rivka Augenfeld, President of Table de Concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes (TRCI).

The committee will hold its first meeting by the end of October 2002 and expects to make a full report to the Minister in April 2003.

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BACKGROUNDER

 
To address problems within the immigration consulting industry, the Honourable Denis Coderre, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, is appointing an advisory committee to identify these problems and offer recommendations for his consideration.

The committee will be made up of experts in the field -- people from a range of backgrounds who understand the current situation and can draw upon their collective expertise to provide the Minister with valuable insight into this complex issue. They will include representatives from the legal profession, immigrant advocacy groups, academia and the immigration consulting industry.

The committee, which is to be headed by two co-chairs, will operate at arm's length from the government. It will meet over the next six months and present its recommendations to the Minister in April 2003.

Once he has considered the report and its recommendations, the Minister will draft an action plan to move forward on this issue..

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