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What is the primary role of CAPIC?
The primary role of CAPIC is to educate and lobby on behalf of the consultants AND the consumers. CAPIC and CSIC have one common objective: to eliminate ghost consultants and protect the consumers.
====================================Why was John Ryan elected a Chair for the third time?
Mr. Ryan was appointed as a Chair for the first time in October 2005, after Ben Trister resigned from the position. The email sent to all CSIC members on October 31, 2005, states:
HIGH LEVEL CHANGES AT CSIC October 31st, 2005
Note to CSIC members from John Ryan
It is my duty to announce today the resignation of our Board Chairman, Mr. Benjamin Trister, as well of our CEO, Mr. Don Lamont.
Please be reassured, it is business as usual at CSIC.
On October 28th, Mr. Trister advised the Board of his departure and, as Vice-Chair, I was nominated to replace him in accordance with our statutes. We expect to be able to announce a replacement for Mr. Lamont this month.
The Board of Directors expressed its deep gratitude to Mr. Trister for his skilled leadership and significant achievements during the last 2 years.
The Society has successfully met many exciting challenges since its beginnings, and will undoubtedly meet many more. We have overcome so many hurdles, we have reached so many milestones, we can be proud of all the work that we have accomplished so far thanks to the dedication of our staff and the strong involvement of our Board. In a difficult environment, we are getting stronger and more focused, with over 1,600 members. This is a success story in the making, all done in the best interest of our members and of the public.
I would also like to thank Mr. Lamont for his contribution to the Society. You can count on my full dedication and energy to help keep our momentum going on the road to self-governance.
Yours truly,
John Ryan, Chair
Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants
In June 2006, Mr. Ryan was elected by the Directors to be a Chair for the second time.
In June 2008, Mr. Ryan’s candidacy was unopposed, as we are told, and Mr. Ryan won his seat on the Board of Directors by acclamation. The Board then proceeded to elect him as a Chair for the third time.
By-law 9.2 (e):
A Chair may be reappointed as Chair for one (1) additional term of two (2 years at the discretion of the Directors. A Chair may not serve for more than two (2) consecutive terms as Chair (including partial terms but may be reappointed as Chair following an absence of two (2) years from such position.
I guess this didn’t answer your question, did it?
====================================Why do CSIC members have to join another organization to get benefits paid by their dues?
CSIC is offering its members several benefits to help them practice their profession. The first one was Lexbase. Lexbase was, and still is, available in the member area of the CSIC website. CSIC announced that it will be moved completely to the CMI website and that only those members of CSIC who also join CMI can access it.
The next announcement was that CSIC offers Lexis Nexis – a wonderful tool for all immigration consultants. There is only one catch – if you want to take advantage of this benefit, you have to join CMI.
The last announcement was that all CSIC members have now access to free-of-charge Uniques software that helps consultants run their practice. Again, this benefit will be available only to CMI members.
Those who refuse to join CMI, will not be able to take advantage of these benefits. Today, CSIC claims that almost 700 consultants joined CMI. Another 650 did not. Those 650 members cannot use tools for which they are already paying.
Many consultants do not plan to join CMI because of a concern that the sheer number of membership will allow the CMI Directors to claim that they speak on behalf of consultants. Considering that these directors are also directors of CSIC, nothing is farther from truth. The sales pitch of CMI is: join us, it’s free! Let’s ask the directors who pays for the benefits that are offered for free. I did ask – no response came as of yet, after more than 2 weeks.
====================================Why do we need another Board of Directors for the Compensation fund?
CSIC incorporated another company that is supposed to be responsible for administration of the Compensation Fund. The Compensation Fund is a mandatory requirement that CSIC had to fulfill to meet the Citizenship and Immigration conditions for funding its establishment. The decision to incorporate another company and have another Board of Directors was made by the Board of Directors. The consultant that was hired recommended more options, all of them cheaper and simpler than incorporation of another company.
====================================How can members criticize the Society without running the risk of discipline?
We can and we should express our opinions, as long as they are in professionaland respectful manner. This is a free country where democracy is cherished and where there is an official opposition party! Opposition and dissent is a matter of civil courage – every step towards a better society started with someone who disagreed with the status quo.
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