College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Regulations (SOR/2026-68)

Definitions

Marginal note:Definitions

1 The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act

Act means the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Act. (Loi)

dishonest act

dishonest act means any of the following acts committed by a licensee:

• (a) theft, fraud or the misappropriation of funds;

• (b) knowingly failing to report a claim to their professional liability insurer, failing to do so in a timely manner or knowingly failing to cooperate with the insurer;

• (c) in connection with an application or proceeding under the Citizenship Act, with the submission of an expression of interest under subsection 10.1(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or with a proceeding or application under that Act, knowingly providing false or misleading information or advising an individual to provide such information. (acte malhonnête)

working day

working day means a day that is not a Saturday or a holiday. (jour ouvrable)

Organization

Compensation Fund

Marginal note:Management of compensation fund

2 The compensation fund referred to in section 13 of the Act is to be separate from any other fund or account held by the College.

Marginal note:Financing of compensation fund

• 3 (1) In addition to any amount paid into the compensation fund under subsection 69(7) of the Act, the fund is composed of the following amounts:

  • (a) any contribution included in the annual fee that is to be paid, for the purpose of financing the fund, by licensees, as well as any other fee that is to be paid to the College by licensees for the purpose of financing the fund;

  • (b) any amount recovered from a licensee to reimburse the fund under section 6;

  • (c) any amount recovered from an insurer to reimburse the fund under section 7;

  • (d) interest accrued on the amounts held by the fund; and

  • (e) any other amount the College assigns to the fund.

• Marginal note:Administration costs

  (2) Costs related to the administration of the fund are to be paid by the College.

Marginal note:Compensation due to dishonest act

4 An individual who suffers financial loss due to a dishonest act that is committed on or after November 23, 2021 may be eligible for compensation if

• (a) at the time when the dishonest act was committed, the individual had

  • (i) entered into a consultation or service agreement with the licensee with respect to immigration or citizenship, or

  • (ii) reasonably concluded that the licensee had agreed to provide immigration or citizenship consulting services to them; and

• (b) the individual did not voluntarily participate in or contribute to the dishonest act.

Marginal note:Application not required

• 5 (1) If a dishonest act is the subject of a decision of the Discipline Committee made on or after the day on which these Regulations come into force and the amount of financial loss suffered is determined in that decision, no application for compensation is required, and the College must notify the individual that they may be eligible for compensation.

• Marginal note:Application required

  (2) However, an individual must submit an application for compensation to the College in the following cases:

  • (a) the Discipline Committee made, on or after the day on which these Regulations come into force, a decision finding that the licensee committed a dishonest act, but the licensee’s failure to cooperate prevented the Committee from determining the amount of financial loss suffered; or

  • (b) as a result of the revocation of the licensee’s licence, the Complaints Committee, in accordance with subsection 34(2), did not refer to the Discipline Committee the complaint referred to in that subsection.

Marginal note:Subrogation

• 6 (1) The College may, standing in place of and representing any individual who has received compensation from the compensation fund, exercise all rights and remedies that that individual exercised or could have exercised with respect to the licensee or their successors.

• Marginal note:Recovery

  (2) The College may, among other things, recover from a licensee any compensation paid under section 15, as well as any fees and expenses paid with respect to such compensation.

• Marginal note:Amounts recovered

  (3) Any amount — with the exception of the fees and expenses paid by the College for the recovery of that amount — recovered by the College for the purposes of this section is to be paid into the compensation fund.

Marginal note:Insurance

• 7 (1) For greater certainty, the College may purchase insurance to compensate for any compensation paid under section 15, as well as any fees and expenses paid with respect to such compensation.

• Marginal note:Amounts recovered

  (2) Any amount — with the exception of the fees and expenses paid by the College for the recovery of that amount — recovered by the College as a result of the insurance is to be paid into the compensation fund.

Annual Report

Marginal note:Report to Minister

8 The report referred to in subsection 15(1) of the Act must include the following information:

• (a) a financial statement for the preceding fiscal year and an auditor’s report on that financial statement;

• (b) the name, professional qualifications and term of office of each of the directors, with an indication of any change in the Board’s composition since the previous annual report;

• (c) with respect to the Complaints Committee, Discipline Committee, Compensation Fund Committee and Capacity Evaluation Committee,

  • (i) the name, terms of reference and composition of each of them,

  • (ii) the name and professional qualifications of each of their members, and

  • (iii) an indication of any change in their composition since the end of the preceding fiscal year;

• (d) information, made anonymous, concerning the number and types of complaints received by the College in relation to the conduct of licensees and the number of complaints processed, including

  • (i) information, in aggregate form, concerning any measures taken to process those complaints, and

  • (ii) any decision made, and any action taken or required, by the Discipline Committee as a result of those complaints since the end of the preceding fiscal year;

• (e) a profile of the profession, including

  • (i) for every province or foreign state where a licensee has a business through which they provide immigration or citizenship consulting services, the number of licensees providing such services in that province or foreign state,

  • (ii) the number and percentage of licensees categorized according to years of experience,

  • (iii) the number and percentage of licensees categorized according to gender, and

  • (iv) the number and percentage of licensees categorized according to the official language of Canada in which they offer their services; and

• (f) with respect to the compensation fund,

  • (i) the number of cases processed without an application in accordance with subsection 5(1) and, in particular,

    • (A) the number of cases for which a decision to pay compensation was made, and

    • (B) the number of cases that were dismissed,

  • (ii) the number of applications submitted under subsection 5(2) and, in particular,

    • (A) the number of applications for which compensation was paid, and

    • (B) the number of applications that were denied,

  • (iii) the total amount of compensation paid under section 15,

  • (iv) the total revenue of the fund,

  • (v) all revenue sources of the fund, and

  • (vi) the total amount available in the fund.

Board of Directors

Marginal note:Ineligibility

• 9 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 20(f) of the Act, an individual is ineligible to be appointed or elected as a director if they meet any of the following criteria:

  • (a) they are an incapable adult on behalf of whom a guardian is authorized to act;

  • (b) they are a family member of an employee of the College;

  • (c) they are a licensee who, in the five previous years, was determined to have committed professional misconduct or to have been incompetent by the Discipline Committee or by the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council’s Discipline Committee.

• Marginal note:Definitions

  (2) The following definitions apply in this section.

  family member

  family member, in relation to the individual in question, means any one of the following:

  • (a) the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (b) a child of the individual or a child of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (c) a parent of the individual or the spouse or common-law partner of that parent;

  • (d) a child of a parent of the individual or a child of that parent’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (e) the spouse or common-law partner of the individual’s child or of the child of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (f) a parent, or the spouse or common-law partner of a parent, of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (g) a current or former foster parent of the individual or of the individual’s spouse or common-law partner;

  • (h) a current or former foster child of the individual or the spouse or common-law partner of that child;

  • (i) a current or former ward of the individual or the spouse or common-law partner of that ward;

  • (j) a current or former guardian of the individual or the spouse or common-law partner of that guardian;

  • (k) any other relative residing permanently with the individual. (membre de la famille)

  guardian

  guardian means a person who is legally authorized to act on behalf of a minor or incapable adult and includes a tutor, a mandatary under a protection mandate or any other person who is appointed to act in a similar capacity. (tuteur)

  ward

  ward means a person for whom a guardian is appointed. (pupille)

Marginal note:Ceases to be director

10 For the purposes of paragraph 23(d) of the Act, a director ceases to be a director if

• (a) while in office, they meet one or more of the criteria set out in subsection 9(1) of these Regulations or section 20 of the Act; or

• (b) they are not in attendance at a minimum of 50% — or more, as set out in the by-laws — of Board meetings during the fiscal year.

Committees

Complaints Committee

Marginal note:Powers, duties and functions

• 11 (1) The Complaints Committee may, in addition to exercising any other powers and performing any other duties and functions, conferred on the Committee under the Act or the by-laws, request an opinion referred to in paragraph 17(1)(a) of these Regulations on the capacity to practise of a licensee referred to in a complaint. If the Committee requests such an opinion, the Committee must take it into account before deciding whether to refer the complaint, in whole or in part, to the Discipline Committee or taking any of the measures set out in paragraphs 57(2)(a) to (c) of the Act.

• Marginal note:Incapacity to practise

  (2) If the opinion concludes that any of the licensee’s conduct or activities that are the subject of the complaint, or part of the complaint, were caused by the licensee’s incapacity to practise, the Complaints Committee must not

  • (a) refer any part of the complaint that relates to that conduct or those activities to the Discipline Committee; and

  • (b) in providing the reasons for its decision under paragraph 57(2)(a) or (b) of the Act and absent the licensee’s consent, disclose the licensee’s personal information other than their name and a statement that the complaint, or part of the complaint, is not being referred to the Discipline Committee because the licensee’s conduct or activities that are the subject of the complaint, or part of the complaint, were caused by the licensee’s incapacity to practise.

• Marginal note:Membership

  (3) The Complaints Committee is composed of licensees, and individuals who are selected from the public, who are appointed by the Board on the recommendation of employees of the College.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (4) The individuals from the public who are selected must

  • (a) not be employees of the College;

  • (b) have the necessary expertise and experience to assess complaints made in respect of licensees; and

  • (c) be appointed as independent members of the Complaints Committee, operating at arm’s length from officers of the College.

• Marginal note:Ineligibility

  (5) The following individuals are ineligible to be members of the Complaints Committee:

  • (a) a director; or

  • (b) a licensee who, in the five previous years, was determined to have committed professional misconduct or to have been incompetent by the Discipline Committee or by the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council’s Discipline Committee.

Discipline Committee

Marginal note:Powers, duties and functions

• 12 (1) The Discipline Committee exercises the following powers and performs the following duties and functions in addition to any powers, duties and functions conferred on it under the Act or the by-laws:

  • (a) as applicable, requesting the opinion referred to in paragraph 17(1)(a) of these Regulations on the capacity to practise of a licensee referred to in a complaint referred by the Complaints Committee and taking the opinion into account in making a decision under subsection 68(1) or 69(3) of the Act;

  • (b) providing to any person who is the subject of a decision made under subsection 68(1) or 69(3) of the Act a copy of the decision; and

  • (c) if the Discipline Committee determines that an individual suffered financial loss due to a dishonest act committed by a licensee and the Committee is able to determine the amount of that financial loss,

    • (i) including in the decision made under subsection 69(3) of the Act the determination of the amount of financial loss and the reasons supporting that determination, and

    • (ii) submitting the amount of financial loss to the Compensation Fund Committee.

• Marginal note:Membership

  (2) The Discipline Committee is composed of individuals who are selected from the public and licensees who are appointed by the Board. The individuals and licensees must be appointed to the Committee on the recommendation of employees of the College.

• Marginal note:Clarification

  (3) The individuals from the public who are selected must

  • (a) not be employees of the College;

  • (b) have the necessary expertise and experience to participate in disciplinary proceedings; and

  • (c) be appointed as independent members of the Discipline Committee, operating at arm’s length from officers of the College.

• Marginal note:Ineligibility

  (4) The following individuals are ineligible to be members of the Discipline Committee:

  • (a) a director; or

  • (b) a licensee who, in the five previous years, was determined to have committed professional misconduct or to have been incompetent by the Discipline Committee or by the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council’s Discipline Committee.