ARCHIVED — Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

P.C. 2011-730 June 23, 2011

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to subsection 5(1) and sections 14 and 91 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (see footnote a), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. The definition “authorized representative” in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (see footnote 1) is repealed.

2. Subsection 10(2) of the Regulations is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (c) and by replacing paragraphs (c.1) and (c.2) with the following:

(c.1) if the applicant is represented in connection with the application, include the name, postal address and telephone number, and fax number and electronic mail address, if any, of any person or entity — or a person acting on its behalf — representing the applicant;

(c.2) if the applicant is represented, for consideration in connection with the application, by a person referred to in any of paragraphs 91(2)(a) to (c) of the Act, include the name of the body of which the person is a member and their membership identification number;
(c.3) if the applicant has been advised, for consideration in connection with the application, by a person referred to in any of paragraphs 91(2)(a) to (c) of the Act, include the information referred to in paragraphs (c.1) and (c.2) with respect to that person;
(c.4) if the applicant has been advised, for consideration in connection with the application, by an entity — or a person acting on its behalf — referred to in subsection 91(4) of the Act, include the information referred to in paragraph (c.1) with respect to that entity or person; and

3. Section 13.1 of the Regulations and the headings before it are repealed.

COMING INTO FORCE

4. These Regulations come into force on the day on which section 1 of An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act , chapter 8 of the Statutes of Canada, 2011, comes into force, but if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

Issue

Bill C-35, An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the amending Act), received Royal Assent on Wednesday, March 23, 2011. Following the coming into force of the amending Act, portions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Regulations) became inconsistent with the new statutory framework and needed to be updated.

The amending Act extends the prohibition against representing or advising persons for consideration — or offering to do so — to all stages of a proceeding or application under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), including before a proceeding has been commenced or an application has been made. A specific offence provision is also created and includes increased penalties.

The amending Act exempts from this prohibition members in good standing of a law society of a province or territory or the Chambre des notaires du Québec — including paralegals — and members of a body designated by the Minister. Articling students acting under the supervision of a member in good standing of a law society or the Chambre des notaires du Québec, as well as entities authorized to provide services to assist persons with their IRPA applications, and persons acting on the entities’ behalf, pursuant to an agreement or an arrangement with Her Majesty in right of Canada, are also exempt from this provision.

Prior to these amendments, the Regulations specified that no person who was not authorized could for a fee represent, advise or consult with a person who was the subject of a proceeding or application before the Minister, an officer or the Board. Furthermore, the Regulations required that applicants include in their application information about persons who were representing them for a fee in order for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to be able to contact the representative when needed, and to ensure that the representative was properly authorized under section 2 of the Regulations.

Objectives

The regulatory amendments will facilitate application processing and enhance program integrity by providing CIC officers with the applicable membership number and the contact information of a person who is advising or representing an immigration applicant for consideration at any stage, including leading up to the application or proceeding before the Minister or the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. The amendments will also ensure that the wording of the Regulations is consistent with the IRPA.

Description and rationale

Description

Three technical/coordinating amendments have been undertaken:

Repeal the definition of “authorized representative” in section 2 of the Regulations. The entities authorized in that definition are now contained in the exception to the general prohibition as set out in subsection 91(2) of the IRPA, as amended.
Repeal Part 2, Division 4 of the Regulations regarding the prohibition against “representation for a fee” and its exceptions. Similar provisions are now contained in subsections 91(1) and 91(3) of IRPA, as amended.
Replace paragraphs 10(2)(c.1) and 10(2)(c.2) of the Regulations regarding application requirements for persons using a representative, and replace with the requirement that the application include
- the name, postal address, telephone number, fax number and electronic mail address, if any, of any person or entity — or a person acting on its behalf — representing the applicant, whether for consideration or not;
- the name of the body and the membership identification number of any person that has provided advice or is representing the applicant for consideration under subsection 91(2) of IRPA, including members of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, members of a body designated by the Minister or members of a provincial law society, which include members of the bar and paralegals; and
- the name, postal address, telephone number, fax number and electronic mail address, if any, of any entity — or a person acting on its behalf — that has provided advice for consideration under subsection 91(4) of IRPA.

Rationale

The regulatory amendments ensure that, following the coming into force of Bill C-35, the technical wording of the Regulations remains consistent with the substantive legislative amendments brought forth by the amending Act.

Consultation

External consultations for the proposed regulatory amendments were not undertaken, as the changes are minor and are consistent with changes brought about by the coming into force of the amending Act.

Implementation, enforcement, and service standards

This regulatory amendment will necessitate minor changes to application forms and manuals. The costs to CIC associated with these changes are negligible.

Contact

Justine Akman
Director
Social Policy and Programs
Immigration Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Telephone: 613-941-9022
Email: Justine.Akman@cic.gc.ca

Footnote a
S.C. 2001, c. 27

Footnote 1
SOR/2002-227

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