Citing government and law enforcement sources, the Globe and Mail has reported that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (“RCMP”) is investigating allegations of fraud at dozens of immigration consulting companies across the country. The probes target unlicensed and unscrupulous immigration consultants who trade in helping foreigners establish themselves in Canada.

Registered members of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants are authorized to represent clients in Canadian immigration cases (this authorization does not extend to other types of law, including United States immigration matters). Immigration consultants are clearly not lawyers. However, many lay persons, especially those from other countries, are not aware of this distinction.

The Globe and Mail reported in a recent article that more than 300 people who claimed to live at the same address in Mississauga, Ontario, were being investigated by the RCMP in what police suspect may be a massive case of citizenship fraud. The RCMP investigation of this case is just one of many similar investigations currently under way.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney vowed to crack down on immigration consultants this week. However, New Democratic Party immigration critic Olivia Chow has stated that the minister has been promising reform for more than a year and has yet to deliver.

The Globe and Mail article appears here.