Man charged after allegedly acting as unauthorized immigration consultant

MONTREAL – The Canada Border Services Agency says a man has been charged with acting as an immigration consultant without being authorized as well as encouraging refugee claimants to misrepresent the facts on applications to remain in Canada.

Francois Teasdale appeared in court in Montreal on Monday after being originally charged on Dec. 5 under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

According to the CBSA, Teasdale is alleged to have provided immigration advice for compensation without being authorized to do so between August 19, 2015 and November 16, 2017. He is also alleged to have knowingly counselled people to make misrepresentations to the Immigration and Refugee Board’s Refugee Protection Division.

CBSA spokesman Dominique McNeely would not comment on the scope of the investigation, but he said it appears several refugee claimants may have acted on Teasdale’s advice.

In Canada, anyone acting as an immigration consultant must be certified by the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council.

Teasdale’s case returns to court in March.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 6, 2020.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said anyone providing immigration advice, counselling, assistance or representation had to be certified by the regulatory council.