Appendix E – Loans and Fees

Loans

• The Minister of Finance has the authority, from time to time, to advance to the Minister out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund, up to the maximum amount that the authorities have prescribed, sums that the Minister might need for making loans for the purposes this Act

The Regulations

• The regulations could provide for any matter pertaining to the application of this section

• In addition, they might include provisions respecting classes of persons to whom, and the purposes for which, the Minister could make the loans

The Fees – Regulations

• The regulations could govern the fees for services provided in the administration of this Act

• Similarly, the regulations could govern cases in which the Minister might waive the fees individually or by class

  • The User Fees Act does not apply to a fee for the provision of services pertaining to a request for an assessment provided by the Department of Employment and Social Development with respect to an application for a work permit

  • The User Fees Act does not apply to a fee for the provision of services involving the processing of an application for a temporary resident visa, work permit, study permit or the extension of an authorisation for remaining in Canada as a temporary resident

  • The User Fees Act does not apply to a fee for the provision of services concerning an application referred to in the provisions specified in subsection 11 (1.01)

  • The User Fees Act does not apply to a fee for the provision of services concerning the collection, use and disclosure of biometric information and for the provision of any related services

The Fees for Rights and Privileges

• The regulations prescribed might:

  • Govern the fees that people would need to pay for the rights and privileges conferred by means of a work permit and,

  • Waive the fees referred to above for certain work permits or certain classes of work permits

    • The User Fees Act does not apply to the fees levied to pay for the rights and privileges conferred by means of a work permit

The Fees – Compliance Regime

• The regulations might:

  • Govern the fees that people need to pay in respect of the compliance regime that applies to employers pertaining to their employment of foreign nationals, whose authorisations to work in Canada do not require assessments provided by the Department of Employment and Social Development

  • Govern cases in which the authorities waive the fees referred to above

  • Require employers to pay the fees referred to above by means of an electronic system and,

  • Include provisions respecting that system, respecting the circumstances in which people can pay the relevant fees by other means and respecting those other means

    • The User Fees Act does not apply to the fees that people need to pay in respect of the compliance regime that applies to employers pertaining to their employment of foreign nationals, whose authorisations to work in Canada do not require assessments provided by the Department of Employment and Social Development

The Social Insurance Numbers – The Minister Directs the Issuance of Special Numbers

• The Minister has the authority to direct the Canada Employment Insurance Commission to assign to people, Social Insurance Numbers

• These numbers would facilitate the identification of these individuals as people who might require (under the provisions specified in this Act) to obtain work authorisation for working in Canada

• The authorities would provide these numbers to people other than Canadian citizens or permanent residents

The Representation or Advice for Consideration

• Pursuant to the provisions given in this section, the authorities require that no people should knowingly, directly or indirectly, represent or advice others for consideration (or offer to do so) in connection with the submission of an expression of interest under subsection 10.1 (3) or a proceeding or application within this Act

The Guidelines for People Who Might Represent or Advise

• In the view of the authorities, certain individuals would not end up contravening the requirements specified above if they are:

  • Lawyers, who are members in good standing of a law society of a province or notaries who are members of good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec

  • Any other members in good standing of a law society of a province or the Chambre des notaires du Québec (including paralegals) or,

  • Members in good standing of a body designated under the provisions specified subsequently

The Guidelines for Students-at-Law

• In the view of the authorities, students-at-law do not contravene the provisions specified above if they offered or provided representation or advice to people

• This is especially so if they are acting under the supervision of people mentioned in the preceding set of bulleted points, who are representing or advising the people (or offering to do so) in connection with the submission of an expression of interest under the provisions specified in subsection 10.1 (3) or a proceeding or application under this Act

The Agreement or Arrangement with Her Majesty

• In the view of the authorities, an entity (including a person acting on its behalf) that offers or provides services to help people in connection with the submission of an expression of interest under the provisions specified in subsection 10.1 (3) or an application under this Act (including for a permanent or temporary resident visa, travel documents or a work or study permit), does not contravene the requirements specified above

• This is especially so if the entity is acting in accordance with an agreement or an arrangement between that entity and Her Majesty in right of Canada that authorises it to provide those services

The Designation by the Minister

• The Minister has the authority, by regulation, to designate a body whose members in good standing might represent or advise people for consideration (or offer to do so) in connection with the submission of an expression of interest under the provisions specified in subsection 10.1 (3) or a proceeding or application under this Act

The Revocation of Designation

• For greater certainty, the Minister has the authority to revoke a designation made under the provisions specified in subsection (5) by regulation

The Regulations – Required Information

• The Governor in Council could make regulations requiring the designated body to provide the Minister with any information specified in the regulations

• This could include information relating to its governance and information that assists the Minister to evaluate whether the designated body governs its members in a manner that is in the public interest

• The regulations formulated would help the designated body to provide professional and ethical representation and advice

The Regulations – Transactional Measures

• The Minister might, by regulation, provide for measures that respect any transitional issues raised by exercising the Minister’s power, including measures that:

  • Make any person or member of a class of persons a member for a specified span of a body that the authorities have designated under the provisions specified within that subsection and,

  • Provide that members or classes of members of a body that has ceased to be a designated body under the provisions of that subsection continue to be authorised to represent or advise people for consideration (or offer to do so) for a specified period

    • This is especially so in connection with the submissions of expressions of interest specified under the provisions mentioned in subsection 10.1 (3) or a proceeding or application under this Act that does not contravene the provisions specified earlier

An Act Respecting Immigration to Quebec

• For greater certainty, An Act respecting immigration to Quebec (RSQ) applies to, among other people, each person who, in Quebec, represents or advises people for consideration (or offers to do so) in connection with a proceeding or application under this Act and:

  • Has the appropriate authorisations for doing so under the regulations specified or,

  • Is a member of a body designated as specified in the provisions given above

The Guidelines for Persons Made Members of a Body

• For greater certainty, no measures referred to in the earlier points exempt people from becoming members 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

The Penalties

• All individuals who contravene the provisions specified in subsection (1) commit offences and are liable:

  • On conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years, or to both or,

  • On summary conviction to a fine of note more than $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months or to both

• For greater certainty, it is worth highlighting that (in this section), the term proceeding does not include a proceeding before a superior court