Tribunal
The College Tribunal makes final decisions on certain cases.
It is an independent body that decides on:
- Complaints that are referred to it by the Complaints Committee, and
- Appeals of the Registrar’s decisions.
The Tribunal is made up of 3 Committees:
- The Discipline Committee
- The Fitness to Practice Committee
- The Registrar Appeal Committee
The Discipline Committee handles complaints involving professionalism or competence.
The Fitness to Practice Committee handles complaints involving “incapacity,” the inability to practice because of mental or physical health reasons.
The Registrar Appeal Committee handles appeals of a Registrar’s decision to refuse or suspend someone’s licence.
The people who serve on the Tribunal are independent of College staff, representatives involved in the complaints process, and the Registrar.
Members of the Tribunal do not participate in any other function related to the College.
Complaints referred by the Complaints Committee
Complaints that were investigated and then reviewed by the Complaints Committee may be sent to the Tribunal.
If there is evidence that a licensee committed a serious breach of the Code of Professional Conduct (“the Code”), the Complaints Committee may refer the complaint to the Discipline Committee.
If there is evidence that a licensee is incapable, they may refer it to the Fitness to Practice Committee.
When a complaint alleges serious offences or the licensee is subject to multiple complaints, the Discipline Committee or the Fitness to Practice Committee may impose an interim order (for example, to suspend the licensee’s licence to practise). These complaints will be processed more quickly.
Rules of Procedure
Cases handled by the Tribunal follow a set of rules, called the Rules of Procedure.
These Rules apply to all cases before the Tribunal.
The Rules of Procedure explain how the Tribunal operates. They also describe what you need to know and do when you are involved in a case that comes before the Tribunal (If you are involved in a case, you are called one of the “Parties”).
The Tribunal also publishes practice directions, guides and templates to help the Parties involved understand and prepare for their case.
Panels of Discipline Committee
The Tribunal makes decisions as panels.
The number of people on a panel depends on the decision being made. Simple decisions, or ones that need to be made quickly, are made by a single panel member. More significant decisions are made by a panel of 2 or 3.
When a panel has more than 1 member, it will have at least 1 licensee and 1 non-licensee to ensure that its decisions are balanced and informed by different views.
Public hearings, cases, and proceedings
The Tribunal handles most cases in writing.
However, for certain types of cases, the Tribunal may hold an oral hearing. Those hearings will be conducted online by videoconference (for example, using the Zoom platform) so the Parties can participate even if they are not in Canada.
These online hearings are public, but your privacy as a client will be protected.
You can find more information on current and past cases by going to the Decisions of the Tribunal section below.
Powers of Discipline Committee
The Tribunal has the power to:
- Impose terms, conditions, or restrictions on a licensee’s practice.
- Suspend a licensee’s licence to practise. This can happen before a hearing begins (as an interim suspension) or after a hearing has concluded.
- Revoke a licensee’s licence to practise.
Principles of discipline
Most cases handled by the Tribunal are Discipline Committee cases—complaints involving breaches of the Code.
When making a decision, the Discipline Committee will consider:
- How you have been affected as a client, and what you may need from the process.
- What the licensee did, why they did it, and what the licensee needs to change.
- How the decision will affect other licensees.
- How the decision will affect the public’s perception of the professionalism and ethics of immigration consultants.
- Whether the case was handled fairly.
Decisions of the Tribunal
The College recognizes how important it is for members of the public to receive timely information to help them make informed decisions about their citizenship or immigration matter. That is why we publish information that affects a licensee’s ability to provide services to the public.
On this page you will find a listing of cases that are currently being handled by the College Tribunal and cases that have been handled in the past. Cases involving all Committees—the Discipline, Fitness to Practice, and Registrar Appeal Committees—are here.
When publishing information on this page, the Tribunal follows its Tribunal Publication Policy. Notices of Proceedings are posted once a case is referred to the Tribunal, then removed from this page once the case is resolved.
Please note that in active cases, the Tribunal has not yet accepted any of the allegations listed.
In accordance with our Tribunal Publication Policy, any information identifying the complainants, clients and other unrelated third parties contained in the Notices and Decisions has been removed. We remove this information to protect the privacy of those individuals.
To determine if an RCIC or a RISIA has been subject to a finding of the Tribunal, you can search for their name on this webpage.
If you have any questions about any of the information below, email complaints@college-ic.ca.
Independent Complaints Review Officer
If the College closes a complaint without a referral to the Tribunal, and a complainant disagrees with how that complaint was handled, they may request that the Independent Complaints Review Officer (ICRO) review the decision.
NOTE: On this page, “you” refers to the complainant.
The ICRO is an independent officer appointed by the Board of Directors to ensure the quality, integrity, and fairness of the College’s complaints procedures.
The ICRO operates independently from the College’s staff and Complaints Committee.
To learn more about the Independent Complaints Review process and procedures, review these resources:
How to submit a request for ICRO review
First, complete the Request for Review Form.
Then, submit the Form within 30 calendar days of when you received notice of the decision from the College’s Professional Conduct Department.
Submit the form by:
Alternatively, you can reach us by telephone: 1-877-836-7543 (ext. 1119)