The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (College) has won a significant Federal Court victory involving a licensee found by the Discipline Committee (DC) to have committed professional misconduct – including job selling – who attempted to have their suspension overturned.
The Federal Court dismissed an application for judicial review brought by the licensee against the DC’s decision, finding that the College’s complaints and discipline process was fair and appropriate and setting a precedent for future cases.
Dinesh Moonshiram challenged 2 decisions made by the DC – a January 18, 2023 finding of professional misconduct, including job selling, and a decision on penalties on May 8, 2023. The penalties consisted of a licence suspension, fine and remediation courses.
Moonshiram alleged the DC’s decisions were unfair and unreasonable, arguing the College failed to investigate important issues and that the licensee was owed an oral hearing.
The Divisional Court disagreed.
Justice Ngo dismissed the application, upholding the DC’s rulings and saying the decisions met the “hallmarks of transparency, justifiability and legibility.”
The Court agreed with the DC’s position that job selling constitutes “a grave offence.” The judge’s reasons described this violation as “a fundamental breach of ethical standards, as it involved exploiting vulnerable clients seeking employment opportunities in Canada.” As a result, the Court upheld the DC’s decision to impose a substantial penalty to deter similar misconduct.
The penalty decision affirmed the DC’s commitment to upholding high ethical standards and protecting the public interest in the immigration consulting profession. It confirmed the DC considered all previous findings of professional misconduct and provided justification for any deviations from past decisions.