Bill C-35
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3rd Session, 40th Parliament,
59 Elizabeth II, 2010
house of commons of canada
BILL C-35
An Act to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
SHORT TITLE
Short title
1. This Act may be cited as the Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act.
2001, c. 27
IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT
2. Section 91 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the heading before it are replaced by the following:
Representation or Advice
Representation or advice for consideration
91. (1) Subject to this section, no person shall knowingly represent or advise a person for consideration — or offer to do so — in connection with a proceeding or application under this Act.
Persons who may represent or advise
(2) A person does not contravene subsection (1) if they are a member in good standing of
(a) a bar of a province or the Chambre des notaires du Québec; or
(b) a body designated under subsection (5).
Students-at-law
(3) A student-at-law does not contravene subsection (1) by offering or providing representation or advice to a person if the student-at-law is acting under the supervision of a member in good standing of a bar of a province or of the Chambre des notaires du Québec who is representing or advising the person — or offering to do so — in connection with a proceeding or application under this Act.
Agreement or arrangement with Her Majesty
(4) An entity, including a person acting on its behalf, that offers or provides services to assist persons in connection with an application under this Act, including for a permanent or temporary resident visa, travel documents or a work or study permit, does not contravene subsection (1) if it is acting in accordance with an agreement or arrangement between that entity and Her Majesty in right of Canada that authorizes it to provide those services.
Designation by Minister
(5) The Minister may, by regulation, designate a body whose members in good standing may represent or advise a person for consideration — or offer to do so — in connection with a proceeding or application under this Act.
Regulations — required information
(6) The Governor in Council may make regulations requiring the designated body to provide the Minister with any information set out in the regulations for the purpose of assisting the Minister to evaluate whether the designated body governs its members in a manner that is in the public interest so that they provide professional and ethical representation and advice, and for any other purpose related to preserving the integrity of policies and programs for which the Minister is responsible under this Act.
Regulations — transitional measures
(7) The Minister may, by regulation, provide for measures respecting any transitional issues raised by the exercise of his or her power under subsection (5), including measures
(a) making any person or member of a class of persons a member for a specified period of a body that is designated under that subsection; and
(b) providing that members or classes of members of a body that has ceased to be a designated body under that subsection continue for a specified period to be authorized to represent or advise a person for consideration — or offer to do so — in connection with a proceeding or application under this Act without contravening subsection (1).
Persons made members of a body
(8) For greater certainty, nothing in measures referred to in paragraph (7)(a) exempts a person made a member of a body under the measures from the body’s disciplinary rules concerning suspension or revocation of membership for providing — or offering to provide — representation or advice that is not professional or is not ethical.
3. The heading after section 129 of the Act is repealed.
4. The Act is amended by adding the following after section 133:
Limitation period
133.1 (1) A proceeding by way of summary conviction in respect of an offence under section 117, 126, 127 or 131 may be instituted at any time within, but not later than, five years after the day on which the subject-matter of the proceeding arose.
Application
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply if the subject-matter of the proceeding arose before the day on which this section comes into force.
5. Subsection 150.1(1) of the Act is amended by striking out “and” at the end of paragraph (a), by adding “and’’ at the end of paragraph (b) and by adding the following after paragraph (b):
(c) the disclosure of information relating to the professional or ethical conduct of a person referred to in paragraph 91(2)(a) or (b) in connection with a proceeding or application under this Act to a body that is responsible for governing or investigating that conduct or to a person who is responsible for investigating that conduct, for the purposes of preserving the integrity of policies and programs for which the Minister is responsible.
TRANSITIONAL PROVISION
Persons authorized to represent, advise or consult
6. Despite subsection 91(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, as enacted by section 2 of this Act, a person — other than a member in good standing of a bar of a province or of the Chambre des notaires du Québec — who, immediately before the coming into force of this section, was authorized under regulations made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to, for a fee, represent, advise or consult with a person who was the subject of a proceeding or application before the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, an officer designated under subsection 6(1) of that Act or the Immigration and Refugee Board, may represent or advise a person for consideration — or offer to do so — in connection with a proceeding or application under that Act until regulations made under subsection 91(5) of that Act, as enacted by section 2 of this Act, come into force.
COORDINATING AMENDMENTS
Bill C-11
7. (1) Subsections (2) and (3) apply if Bill C-11, introduced in the 3rd session of the 40th Parliament and entitled the Balanced Refugee Reform Act (in this section referred to as the “other Act”), receives royal assent.
(2) If section 2 of this Act comes into force before section 8 of the other Act, then that section 8 is repealed.
(3) If section 8 of the other Act comes into force on the same day as section 2 of this Act, then that section 8 is deemed to have come into force before that section 2.
COMING INTO FORCE
Order in council
8. The provisions of this Act, other than section 7, come into force on a day or days to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.
Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons
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Explanatory Notes
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
Clause 2: Existing text of the heading and section 91:
Representation
91. The regulations may govern who may or may not represent, advise or consult with a person who is the subject of a proceeding or application before the Minister, an officer or the Board.
Clause 3: Existing text of the heading:
Proceeds of Crime
Clause 4: New.
Clause 5: Relevant portion of subsection 150.1(1):
150.1 (1) The regulations may provide for any matter relating to