Over the past few days, the Canadian government has decided to pretend it’s taking steps to "fix" the overwhelming number of temporary residents who have remained in Canada after their study or work permits expired, or who entered on visitor visas. Headlines are popping up everywhere, often targeting international students or those same students in the context of refugee claims.
And, of course, instead of admitting the failure of the system (which would require NOT having narcissistic personality traits), our Immigration Minister, along with the Prime Minister (longtime buddies since their wild student days), decided to scapegoat immigration consultants.
Personally, this didn’t just shock me—it made me angry, even furious. Let’s lay out the facts—because facts are what help reveal the truth.
- This year, the number of refugee claims within Canada has tripled. Ninety percent of these claims were submitted by international students whose status was about to expire. Almost all of them graduated from just a few colleges in Ontario.
- There are approximately 13,000 registered immigration consultants in Canada.
- Since 2021, consultants have not been allowed to handle refugee cases unless they pass a specific exam and obtain a license.
4.The first IRB licenses (for refugee representation by consultants) were issued in 2023.
- Currently, only 1,000 consultants in Canada are authorized to handle refugee files.
BUT! There are 151,000 lawyers and legal professionals authorized to handle immigration and refugee cases: 36,000 lawyers, 4,500 notaries in Quebec (who can represent immigration cases in the province), 10,600 paralegals in Ontario (also allowed to handle immigration cases). So, it’s 151,000 legal professionals vs. 1,000 consultants.
- As of September 2024, 14,000 international students have applied for refugee status.
- Unlike lawyers, consultants do not have government contracts for legal aid. For the claimant, legal aid seems free, but the government pays the lawyers for handling refugee cases.
- Two days ago, the Immigration Minister sent an open letter to the College of Immigration Consultants (question: why not to the Bar Association? Too strong? Or because they would simply dismiss it?) requesting ethical reviews for those eligible to handle refugee cases.
- And just a couple of days ago, Prime Minister Trudeau gave a sweet speech about how everything is wonderful, how immigration has simply been uneven over the last two years (all going according to plan, the five-year plan has been achieved in three years, flags handed out, and participation in demonstrations in honor of the powers that be has even been counted as paid workdays).
- Conclusion:
Unofficially, there are two “helpers” (unlicensed advisors) for every licensed consultant or lawyer in Canada. These are people who: Offer advice without a license. Consult on behalf of licensed professionals (whether they’re friends, partners, spouses, boyfriends, or girlfriends). Operate from firms outside Canada where licensing is “not required.”
The real mess is that there’s no official mechanism to control these “shadow helpers.” Complaints against them are ignored because policing them would require government resources—resources that Canada doesn’t have.
Instead, it’s easier to blame 1,000 licensed immigration consultants, most of whom only received their permissions last year, for the fact that 14,000 international students applied for refugee status, "created" a housing crisis (and let’s not forget, it costs the government an average of $70,000 per year to support one refugee claimant), and somehow caused the quarter-million backlog of pending refugee claims in Canada—whose processing times have now surpassed 3.5 years.
Oleksandra Melnykova, Immigration and Refugee Consultant for Canada.
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