The role of the Independent Complaints Review Officer
The College aims to be an effective, fair, and transparent regulator of the Canadian immigration consulting profession.
As part of this vision, our By-laws provide a process for an independent review of the way we manage complaint files that we do not send to the Tribunal. You can ask for this review if you believe your complaint was handled incorrectly.
The ICRO is appointed by the College’s Board of Directors to do the work described on this page. Their work is governed by sections 29 and 60.7 of the By-laws and the Independent Complaints Review Officer Regulation.
The ICRO operates independently of the College’s staff, Board, Committees and Tribunal, to ensure that standard principles of natural justice and procedural fairness are maintained when we handle complaints. This is a pivotal role in helping us ensure:
- The quality of our service.
- The integrity and fairness of our complaint procedures, and
- The on-going commitment we have made to regulatory excellence.
The ICRO may review any decision to close a complaint without referring it to the Tribunal, provided you request a review within 30 days of when you received notice of the decision.
The ICRO can only review:
- Whether the procedures the College used when investigating or handling a complaint against a licensee were fair.
- Whether there were any errors in fact or in law in the way the complaint was handled.
An ICRO review is not a reconsideration of the merits of the complaint or whether the complaint should have been dismissed or referred to the Tribunal.
Requesting a review
To request an independent review of the decision to close a complaint, you must submit a written application using the Request for Review Form.
Requests for review must meet these eligibility requirements:
- Your complaint against a licensee was closed without a referral to the Tribunal.
- You submitted your request for review no later than 30 days after receiving notice from the College’s Professional Conduct Department of the decision to close your complaint.
To request a review, submit a Request for Review Form and pay a CAD $25 administrative fee according to the instructions on the form.
Possible outcomes of the review
Once the ICRO has completed its review of the decision to close a complaint, they may:
- Decide to take no further action. This happens if they accept that the College handled the complaint in a fair way and that there were no errors in fact or in law.
- Refer the complaint back to the College with a recommendation for further action.
- Settle the matter between the complainant and the College and have each party sign a settlement agreement.
What the ICRO cannot do
The ICRO does not have the authority to:
- Review the merits of a decision.
- Make a finding of professional misconduct.
- Make a finding of professional negligence.
- Issue disciplinary penalties.
- Award a payment or compensation because of financial loss.
- Make the licensee refund fees or disbursements to anyone.
- Conduct an entirely new investigation.
Decision to not undertake a review
The ICRO may decide to not undertake a review if:
- The Request for Review form is not complete.
- The form is not accompanied by the review fee of CAD $25 (refer to the form for complete details).
- The request for review appears to have been made for an improper purpose.
- The ICRO does not have jurisdiction under the By-laws or Regulation to perform a review.
Your role in the ICRO review process
You may be contacted during the review. This will happen only if the ICRO needs you to answer any questions to support the review process.
ICRO review decision
When the review is finished, the ICRO will provide their decision in writing, with reasons, to you, the licensee, and the College.
The decision of the ICRO is final and is not subject to further review or appeal.
ICRO review timelines
You will receive an acknowledgment email within 2 weeks of when you submit your Request for Review.
It will then typically take the ICRO 30 days to complete the review.
If the ICRO is unable to complete the review in this time, they will notify you, the licensee, and the College of the delay and provide the expected date of completion.