Canada gears up to criminalize fake immigration consultants

Canada, 9th June: Canada Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is going to introduce a new legislation aimed at putting a curb on immigration consultants rendering services without being registered as a consultant in Canada.

The new law titled –Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act- was unveiled in the Parliament yesterday. It will give legal powers to authorities to register criminal charges against the sharks or fake immigrant consultants. Such bogus immigration consultants target vulnerable potential migrants.

According to the new act, anyone found guilty of such activities would be liable to a fine of $50,000 along with a jail-term of two years following conviction.

Canada has witnessed several incidents of unscrupulous immigration advisors playing with the loopholes of the law in the nation and cheating innocent people of large sums of money. Kenney asserted that immigration fraud in Canada is widespread and is threatening the integrity of the immigration system of Canada.

The new act will provide a safety to the Canadian immigration system against abuse and fraud as it will make it a crime to give immigration advice except those who are registered and certified lawyers, consultants or notaries legally authorized to provide immigration advice for a fee.

Kenney said that people wanting to immigrate to Canada are victimized by crooked immigration advisors and to make things worse, all such consultants even ask potential immigrants to give false information in their applications for Canada immigration in order to make fake refugee claims or to enter into fake marriages with either permanent residents or citizens of Canada.

The latest move to introduce a law to stop such fraudulent activities in Canada immigration system is being applauded and welcomed by the previous president of the Canadian Association of Immigration Consultant Professionals, Phil Mooney. 

The new act with tougher legal penalties is being considered a real watchdog with real teeth and the credit for introducing such act goes to theCanada immigration Minister who has, indeed, made a promising start.

It may be mentioned that the CSIC is a professional body comprising of nearly 1,600 members established in the year 2004. The CSIC has been criticized by its members since its inception.