Authored by Chaobo (Bo) Jiang, Barrister and Solicitor, Zaifman Immigration Lawyers, and Chair, Manitoba Bar Association Immigration Law Section.
This article is intended to help immigrants who are victims of fraud and other immigration abuses learn more about where to seek help. This is not an exhaustive list but rather a starting point. It is important to note that this article does not replace legal advice. Given the broad areas of law the legal issues may touch upon, it is strongly recommended for any victims of immigration fraud and abuse to reach out to qualified professionals to seek legal advice and help.
Read CILA’s report: The State of Canadian Immigration Fraud
What do I mean by that? For example, an immigration lawyer may not be familiar with all the adequate remedies in a civil litigation case and may not be familiar with the details of provincial employment standards legislation. Thus, it is important to receive adequate advice from all relevant professionals prior to proceeding in order to avoid complications when seeking redress.
In Canada, there are many mechanisms in place from various government entities to help address the issues of immigration fraud and abuse. For example, the Government of Canada has consolidated a list of methods to report fraud and abuse during the immigration process for individuals both inside and outside of Canada. These are available publicly online at https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/protect-fraud/report-fraud.html.
In particular, the link identifies several main methods to report fraud and abuse, such as:
- IRCC Client Support Centre[1],
- the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre[2],
- the IRCC’s fraud tip email CitizenshipFraudTips-Fraudedecitoyennete.IRCC@cic.gc.ca,
- the Canada Border Services Agency’s secure webform[3],
- Canada Border Services Agency Border Watch Toll-Free Line (1-888-502-9060),
- the human trafficking hotline (1-833-900-1010),
- the nearest IRCC visa office (for overseas),
- local and federal police services in the jurisdiction located, etc.
Furthermore, Employment and Social Development Canada (“ESDC”) also has published online information with respect to how to recognize and report fraud[4].
To protect victims of fraud and abuse, IRCC has the authority under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations to issue open work permits for vulnerable workers under R207.1-A72 of the Regulations[5]. A further example list of relevant enforcement agencies who may provide assistance for the victims are listed on the IRCC’s website for vulnerable workers:
“Enforcement agencies
Examples of enforcement agencies include
- the CBSA
- the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
- human rights tribunals
- provincial employment standards branches and divisions (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island)
- the Ministry of Labour (Ontario)
- the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail(Quebec)
- the labour standards divisions (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador)”
IRCC also have the authority to issue temporary resident permits (TRPs) to assist victims of human trafficking[6] and family violence[7] to obtain legal status to remain in Canada.
With respect to employers who have employed temporary foreign workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program, ESDC[8] and IRCC[9] further have the authority to inspect an employer who submitted an offer of employment for which a work permit was issued for a foreign national under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations through a process known as Employer Compliance. The purpose of this is to ensure that the employer meets their obligations under which the work permit was issued. Employers who are found noncompliant may be subject to administrative penalties including a warning letter, an administrative monetary penalty, being named on the list of non-compliant employers published online, and/or a ban from accessing the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program.
I also want to touch upon the issue of immigration representatives. With respect to the issue of public protection, licensed immigration representatives in Canada are regulated by either the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) or the Provincial/Territorial Law Societies of Canada. The CICC licenses and regulates the practice of Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) and Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors (RISIAs) in the public interest.
The 14 Law Societies in Canada are mandated by each Province and Territory to regulate their lawyers and the legal profession. The Federation of Law Societies of Canada is the national association of the 14 individual Law Societies. The CICC and the Provincial/Territorial Law Societies are mandated to uphold and protect the public interest in the delivery of immigration-related legal services, to ensure the competence and integrity of their members, continued educational requirements, to address complaints, disciplinary processes, etc. It is important to avoid using the services of an unlicensed consultant, commonly known as ghost consultants.
An applicant may review the websites of the Provincial/Territorial Law Societies[10] of their local jurisdiction to ensure their representative is in good standing and properly licensed. Similarly, an applicant may also review the website of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants to ensure that the immigration representative is properly licensed and in good standing[11]. Last but not least, these websites also include searchable disciplinary history for immigration practitioners.
[1] IRCC Client Support Services, available publicly at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/contact-ircc/client-support-centre.html
[2] Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, available publicly at: https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm
[3] Canada Border Services Agency Secure Webform, available publicly at: https://bwl-lsf.cbsa-asfc.cloud-nuage.canada.ca/tip-sub-en.html
[4] Scam and fraud prevention- Service Canada, available publicly at: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/portfolio/service-canada/fraud.html#h2.4
[5] Open work permits for vulnerable workers [R207.1 – A72] – International Mobility Program (IMP), available publicly at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/vulnerable-workers.html
[6] Temporary resident permits (TRPs): Considerations specific to victims of trafficking in persons, available publicly at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/permits/considerations-specific-victims-human-trafficking.html
[7] Immigration options for victims of family violence, available publicly at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/fees-permits-victims.html
[8] Compliance information for employers hiring temporary foreign workers (ESDC), available publicly at: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/foreign-workers/employer-compliance.html
[9] Employer compliance inspections (IRCC), available publicly at: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/temporary-residents/foreign-workers/work-without-permit/employer-compliance-inspections.html#imp
[10] Law Society Websites:
- Law Society of British Columbia: https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/
- Law Society of Albera: https://www.lawsociety.ab.ca/
- Law Society of Saskatchewan: https://www.lawsociety.sk.ca/
- Law Society of Manitoba: https://www.lawsociety.mb.ca/
- Law Society of Ontario: https://lso.ca/home?lang=en-ca
- Barreau du Quebec: https://www.barreau.qc.ca/en/
- Chambre des notaries de Quebec: https://www.cnq.org/en/
- Law Society of New Brunswick: https://lawsociety-barreau.nb.ca/en
- Nova Scotia Barrister’s Society: https://nsbs.org/
- Law Society of Prince Edward Island: https://lawsocietypei.ca/
- Law Society of Newfoundland and Labrador: https://lsnl.ca/
- Law Society of Yukon: https://lawsocietyyukon.com/
- Law Society of Northwest Territories: https://lawsociety.nt.ca/
- Law Society of Nunavut: https://www.lawsociety.nu.ca/
[11] CICC website: https://college-ic.ca/
