News & Insights

 

 

 

In this edition:

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Mentoring Program

The New-Licensee Mentoring Program (Supervised Practice Stream) will become mandatory for new licensees who receive their Letter of Authority on or after July 1, 2022. The New-Licensee Mentoring Program will pilot this fall.

A period of mandatory mentoring for new licensees is intended to provide practical experience which will help standardize the quality of practice and help new licensees succeed in their careers. 

Benefits of Mentoring

Mentoring provides opportunities for reflection and learning and is considered a “holistic form of teaching and learning”, incorporating multiple facets of a mentee’s career development – advising, tutoring, coaching and counselling.

Benefits of eMentoring

The College’s forthcoming Mentoring Program will be delivered virtually, via the top-rated eMentoring software, MentorCity. 

Research has shown that virtual mentoring allows for more flexibility in creating and sustaining developmental relationships and networking. Virtual mentoring is also “boundaryless”, meaning that it provides accessibility to a diverse range of participants through easy access, real-time video exchange. Geographical barriers are reduced, and through eMentoring software algorithms, finding and matching with appropriate mentors is seamless. 

References

Bierema, L. (2017). eMentoring: Computer Mediated Career Development for the Future. In D. A. Clutterbuck, F. K. Kochan, L. Lunsford, N. Dominguez & J. Haddock-Millar The SAGE Handbook of Mentoring (pp. 482-497). SAGE Publications Ltd.
Mullen, C. A. (2004). Mentorship Primer. New York: Peter Lang. 
Mullen, C. A. (2009). Re-Imagining the Human Dimension of Mentoring: A Framework for Research Administration and the Academy. The Journal of Research Administration, 40(1), 10–31.

Questions or concerns?

Send an email to mentoring@college-ic.ca.

 

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Compliance with the Specialization Program required to practice at the IRB

 

Program Objective

Launched on August 5, 2021, the College’s Specialization Program ensures RCICs have the required knowledge, skills and judgement to practise before the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) safely and ethically in the public interest. The program is based on the Essential Competencies for RCIC Practice.  

Who should enroll?

This program does not apply to graduates of the Graduate Diploma Program and paralegals actively registered with the Law Society of Ontario.

If you are representing clients before the IRB (which includes attending a hearing) or wish to do so you must:

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Outreach Activities

Left to right: Olena Korolova, RCIC, Sabrina Cigana, Public Affairs Coordinator and Yulia Balina, RCIC, at the Canadian Immigrant Fair

 Staff from the College recently participated in several virtual and in-person outreach events.

English and French Information Sessions with Universities Canada members (virtual) – June 16 and 20
The College, in collaboration with Universities Canada, hosted information sessions for Designated Learning Institutions (DLIs) across Canada. Beata Pawlowska, Director, Professional Standards, Research, Education and Policy and Chris May, Director, Public Affairs and Communications virtually spoke about what the College Act means for the regulation of immigration consulting in Canada. They also shared how the College will better mitigate the impact of immigration fraud and discussed the value that the RISIA designation brings to a post-secondary institution’s work with international students. 

The information sessions are part of ongoing outreach initiatives the College is engaged in with universities and colleges across Canada.

Canadian Immigrant Fair (Toronto) – June 23
The fair connected newcomers seeking employment, education, and settlement information with service providers, potential employers, and immigration stakeholders. Chris May and Sabrina Cigana, Public Affairs Coordinator spoke with immigrants about fraud prevention and the College’s public register, as well as the graduate diploma program with those who are interested in becoming an RCIC. Licensees who visited the College’s booth received College posters and consumer guides to provide to their clients. Immigrants seeking immigration advice were encouraged to speak to RCICs exhibiting at the MyConsultant.ca booth. 

The College will be attending the next Canadian Immigrant Fair in Calgary on August 26, 2022. 

Left to right: Chris May, Director, Public Affairs and Communications, Sabrina Cigana, Public Affairs Coordinator and Beata Pawlowska, Director, Professional Standards, Research, Education and Policy at the BC International Education Week.

BC International Education Week (Whistler) – June 26-29
The BC Council for International Education (BCCIE) hosted in person BC’s first International Education Week (BCIEW). Beata Pawlowska, Chris May, and Sabrina Cigana attended BCIEW in Whistler on behalf of the College. During the week, international education leaders and stakeholders participated in workshops and activities. Topics that were covered included internationalization and student recruitment. Delegates who visited the College’s booth learned more about the College’s graduate diploma program and the importance of DLIs having RISIAs on staff to help international students. 

 

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The College is looking for some talented professionals to join our team.

Do you or someone you know want to be part of a team that protects the public by overseeing regulated immigration and citizenship consultants and international student advisors? 

HR Generalist

Instructor

RCIC Advisor

 

Interested in any of these opportunities? Submit your resume and a brief cover letter indicating why you feel you are a fit for the role. 

For more information on these positions and the most up-to-date College career postings, visit the College's Career page.

 

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The College’s Tribunal Committee is an independent adjudicative committee that hears and decides regulatory cases about an RCIC in accordance with the College’s core values of fairness, transparency, and public protection. 

Below are summaries of the most recent decisions of the Tribunal Committee. Full decisions are available, without charge, on the Canadian Legal Information Institute’s (CanLII) website at: https://www.canlii.org/en/ (please enter “ICCRC” or “College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants” in the “Document text” field).

Urgent Interim Suspension
Licensee	Hartar Singh Sohi; R512927
Company Name/Location	Abroad Immigration and Education Services Inc. Winnipeg, MB
Proceedings	Written Disciplinary Hearing
Summary of Allegations	The College has been made aware that proceedings were pending against the RCIC for alleged violations of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”). The College considers that, if the alleged violations of IRPA are proven, the underlying conduct may also be a breach of the code of Professional Conduct. The College brought a motion before the Discipline Committee to suspend the RCIC on an interim basis. The parties have agreed the RCIC will be suspended pending the outcome of the proceedings under IRPA.  The allegations under IRPA concern incidents in which it is alleged that the RCIC misrepresented or withheld material facts relating to work permit applications of 6 individuals. It is also alleged that the RCIC withheld material facts relating to work permit applications and communicated false or misleading information or declarations with the intent to induce or deter the immigration to Canada of 2 individuals. It is further alleged that the RCIC sold fraudulently obtained Labour Market Impact Assessments.   The RCIC expressly denies all the allegations against him, both in the IRPA proceedings and in the College’s Notice of Motion for this interim suspension. Outcome Interim Suspension on Consent effective June 22, 2022 until a further decision on the complaint is rendered by the Discipline Committee.
Outcome	Interim Suspension on Consent effective June 22, 2022 until a further decision on the complaint is rendered by the Discipline Committee.
Costs	No costs have been requested and no order as to costs has been issued.

Discipline Committee Decision
Licensee	Hanbin Kim; R413471
Company Name/Location	Aries International Canada Toronto, ON
Proceedings	Written Disciplinary Hearing
Findings	The Complainant signed a retainer agreement with an organization called Aries International Canada, where the RCIC was employed. The retainer agreement identified that the organization was retained to assist the Complainant with a Federal Skilled Worker (“FSW”) application but did not name the RCIC nor did he sign the agreement. The retainer agreement indicated that the Complainant was to pay professional fees of $3,500 CAD in 10 equal payments. The retainer agreement also indicated that if the client wished to cancel the contract, no professional fees would be refundable even if no work was commenced or completed. Once the agreement was signed, the Complainant provided Aries with 10 post-dated cheques. Contrary to the agreement, Aries instead assisted the Complainant with the submission of an expression of interest (“EOI”) under the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (“MPNP”). Prior to submitting the EOI, the organization did not provide accurate information regarding the EOI and how the work done was only to indicate their interest and was not an actual application for the MPNP. The Complainant contacted Aries on 2 occasions to withdraw representation. Despite multiple attempts to withdraw representation and filing a complaint with the College, Aries continued to cash the Complainant’s cheques. After some time, Aries provided the Complainant with a partial refund, and shortly thereafter the College received a second complaint against the RCIC.  The RCIC acknowledged several breaches of his professional obligations such as he did not sign the retainer agreement and it was inappropriate for the retainer agreement to contain a clause requiring the Complainant to provide full payment even if the contract was cancelled and no work was commenced or completed. The RCIC presented the work to have been completed when it had not been and the RCIC had little or no involvement in the work performed on the Complainant’s application and did not communicate with the Complainant throughout the retainer. The RCIC failed to account for the Complainant’s funds and provide invoices and, furthermore, despite the Complainant’s cancellation of the retainer, the RCIC continued to cash the Complainant’s cheques when little to no work was completed.
Outcome	The RCIC is permitted to permanently resign his license with the College. The RCIC is required to pay a penalty to the College in the amount of $1,000.
Costs	The RCIC is to pay costs to the College in the amount of $1,000

Discipline Committee Decision
Licensee	Ryan Dean, R409631
Company Name/Location	Employment Lab and Camerica Visa LLC  Las Vegas, NV, USA
Proceedings	Written Disciplinary Hearing – DC Decision on Finding Facts and Sanctions
Findings	This Disciplinary hearing dealt with one complaint against the RCIC.  The complaint alleged that the RCIC attempted to mislead and defraud licensees and the public by falsely claiming, in June of 2020, that a business corporation “The College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Corp.” (CICC Corp) of which the licensee purported to be the managing director, had replaced ICCRC as the government-authorized regulator of Canadian immigration and citizenship consultants, and advising licensees to “transfer” their licences (and licensing fee payments) from ICCRC to the “new” regulator.   These false claims attempted to capitalize on the unique period where the federal government had announced that the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants would become the new federal regulator, but ICCRC had not yet fully transitioned into becoming the statutory College. The Panel found that the RCIC breached Article 4.2.1 of the 2016 Code of Professional Ethics, Prohibition Against False or Misleading Public Statements, but had not breached section 4.3.1, Duty of Civility. The Panel found that the RCIC’s public statements which he signed and posted on LinkedIn and on CICC Corp’s website declaring CICC Corp as the new regulator to be false and misleading. The Panel found that the RCIC used the CICC acronym in his public statements to give the public the misleading impression that CICC Corp was in the fact the new College. The Panel found that while the RCIC made numerous allegations of fraud and corruption against ICCRC, now the College, and questioned its legitimacy as a regulator, these statements did not exceed the threshold for breaching the duty of civility as contemplated by the Code of Professional Ethics. The Panel found that promoting CICC Corp, a corporation the RCIC’s co-founded, as an alternative to ICCRC and making numerous public statements which were worded in such a way that many people reading these statements would be misled into thinking that the CICC Corp had replaced ICCRC was highly unethical and dishonest as the RCIC ought to have known the information he was disseminating to the public was false. The Panel indicated their concern that the RCIC knowingly put other immigration consultants at risk of being in an “unregistered” state by attempting to convince them to transfer their memberships from ICCRC to the CICC Corp and illegally collecting membership fees.  The RCIC not only confused members of ICCRC with these unauthorized and misleading actions but also demonstrated a disregard for the careers and livelihood of other immigration consultants.
Outcome	The RCIC’s licence was revoked effective June 30, 2022
Costs	The RCIC is to pay costs in the amount of $64,373.00 by December 27, 2022.

Discipline Committee Decision
Licensee	Garsendy Emmanuel Guillaume, R507422
Company Name/Location	9265-6404 Quebec Inc. Montréal, QC
Proceedings	Oral Adjudication
Findings	The Disciplinary hearing dealt with one complaint against the RCIC.  The complaint alleged that the RCIC misguided the client regarding the program suitable to her situation, failed to provide a complete Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, failed to keep the client informed about the status of her file, misrepresented the progress of her file, failed to provide services, encouraged the client not to follow instructions from government authorities and advised the client to obtain medical notes in order to delay a meeting with CBSA. The Panel concluded that the RCIC acted in a manner that did not maintain the professional integrity of the immigration practice advising the client and her family to take advantage of the Program for Refugees (Collective Sponsorship) when the basic eligibility criteria were not met, nor did he act conscientiously and diligently and provide a service of the quality that would be expected of a competent RCIC. In addition, the RCIC lacked judgment in accepting the client’s file in light of his lack of experience, the status of the file, and the client’s credibility issues raised by the IRB. The Panel found that the RCIC did not breach articles 6.1.7 and 6.1.8 of the 2012 Code of Professional Ethics, with respect to the issue of the Program for Refugees (Collective Sponsorship) application, the main issue was a lack of program competence and knowledge, as well as a misinterpretation of the regulations. The Panel indicated that the RCIC even before signing the retainer agreement realized that the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment application from the client had little chance of success. Instead of advising the client with honesty and frankness, the RCIC preferred to collect the agreed fees without providing any real services.    The Panel found that the RCIC misadvised the client, failed to provide the professional services, received fees for services not provided or not required, lacked diligence, frankness and honesty, and induced the client to engage in behaviour designed to mislead or evade government authorities.  The Panel found that the RCIC has breached articles 4.1, 6.1., 6.1.6., 6.1.9, 7.1, 7.4, 7.4.1, et 7.4.2 of the 2012 Code of Professional Ethics.
Outcome	The RCIC’s licence was revoked effective May 24, 2022, and a fine imposed, payable to the College in the amount of $5,000 to be paid by March 24, 2023.
Costs	The RCIC is to pay costs in the amount of $37,041.94 by May 24, 2025.