Good morning, Madam Chair, members of Parliament.

My name is Louis-René Gagnon.

First of all, thank you for the opportunity to appear before this committee as an individual.

Let me briefly tell you about my own experience that is directly related to the bill before you today.

I held positions related to policy development, with operational responsibilities at Quebec's immigration department for more than 20 years, including as secretary of the Conseil des relations interculturelles and as director of the Quebec immigration office for the Middle East in Damascus, Syria, from 2007 to 2009. That was during a more pleasant period. I also carried out many missions to select immigrants abroad.

From September 2011 to May 2016, after my retirement from the provincial public service, I taught immigration law at the CEGEP de Saint-Laurent to those wanting to become immigration consultants. Since May 2013, I have held the position that is perhaps most relevant in this case. I am actually a member of the Discipline Committee of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council as a representative of the public. Let me clarify that I am not a consultant. As part of the committee, I have served on more than 250 complaints committees as well as on numerous disciplinary and appeal committees, either as a member or as chair.

I should tell you that I fully support the principle of the bill regarding the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants because I believe that the disciplinary system to which consultants must adhere must be based on a solid legal foundation under an act of the Parliament of Canada specifically designed for them.

In addition, I am pleased that subsection 6(2) of the Act respecting the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants proposed in Bill C-97 gives the college extraterritorial capacity. In my experience, the most serious abuses are in fact predominantly committed abroad. I also welcome section 78, which will allow the college to apply for an injunction to counter the blight of illegally practising the immigration consulting profession.

However, I would like to insist that the various disciplinary panels that will be created under the regulations—which will be approved by the minister—always be composed of two licence holders and a member of the public. A member of the public who is not a consultant is an important guarantee of impartiality. This prevents the image of a professional group whose members would only protect each other or absolve each other of their faults.

I am also pleased that section 9 stipulates that the Official Languages Act applies to the college, since the ICCRC has not always been exactly exemplary in that regard. However, the college will need to be provided with the financial resources required to comply with the legislation.

I consider the governance structure proposed by the bill, which combines both elected and minister-appointed members on the board, to be satisfactory.

I would like to add that, in my opinion, the role of the member of the public is broader than simply defending the consultants' clients. I recently recalled a case where the sentence to be imposed on a consultant who had been convicted of criminal acts was being considered on appeal. To mitigate his sentence, his lawyer said that, in this case, his clients had pushed him to commit those acts, that they too had committed criminal acts and that the public was not involved. However, I remember writing in that decision that the public was actually involved. The public is not limited the clients. A representative of the public must keep in mind the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and look at it in the broadest sense.

Thank you.

I am ready to answer any questions you may have, in French or English.