Over the course of 2024, the College has taken deliberate and strong action to advance our strategic objectives, including the fight against Unauthorized Practitioners (UAPs).
Now more than ever, combating UAPs who exploit prospective newcomers and threaten the reputation of the profession, remains a significant priority. We successfully shut down over 3,900 websites and social media pages advertising UAPs and executed a landmark multilingual public awareness campaign to educate the public domestically and internationally in Canada’s top source countries for immigration about the dangers of UAPs and the importance of using the Public Register.
Our efforts caught the eye of foreign regulators and governments who want to learn from our successes. We continue to engage with key stakeholders about fraud prevention and the role of the College and licensees, strengthening stakeholder relations with partners like Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), provincial governments, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
We launched the College Portal which features a redesigned Public Register, allowing members of the public to easily verify the status of licensees and avoid engaging with UAPs. The all-in-one platform allows licensee to access all their regulatory tasks in one place and is accessible to both candidates and members of the public, streamlining application and complaints processes.
We introduced the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Activity Approval Form, streamlining CPD activity submissions for licensees and providers through the College Portal.
We developed policies on accreditation, research, licensee conduct and mentoring as part of our Quality Assurance Program, strengthening professional standards, compliance and competencies across the profession. We are also preparing for our upcoming session of the New-Licensee Mentoring Program and invited experienced licensees and invited experienced licensees to become mentors and help shape the future of the profession by providing guidance to new licensees.
The College released a new guide for service agreements which provides directions and guidance to RCICs on drafting written service agreements with clients before any services are provided as required under the Code of Professional Conduct.
We hosted our second Research Symposium in June 2024. As an industry thought-leader, the College brought together domestic and international experts, regulators and advocates to discuss the evolving landscape of immigration and regulatory affairs.
On December 5, 2024, we held our Annual General Meeting in Laval, Quebec. The AGM was attended in person by more than 250 licensees and more than 970 participated virtually.
Looking forward, we await the new College Act Regulations that will guide and govern our future work. We expect them to be presented for public consultation in the coming weeks.
As I reflect on the past year, I believe we moved forward with our strategic priorities in the public interest and continued to advance the profession we know to be vital to our country and to the lives of newcomers who hope to make Canada their home.
I’d also like to thank our Board and staff teams for their dedication to the College. I am looking forward to continuing to work together with our stakeholders to protect the public interest in 2025!
Sincerely,
John Murray, BA, LLB, LLM
President & CEO, Registrar