On March 9, 2026, Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced five new appointments to the Board of Directors of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), for a two-year term that began March 7, 2026. I'll admit this kind of governance news doesn't usually make for exciting reading, but it's directly relevant to anyone trusting a consultant with their immigration file, so bear with me.
Why the CICC board structure matters
The CICC is the regulatory body that licenses and oversees RCICs, Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants, like myself. Its Board of Directors has nine seats: five appointed directly by the Minister of IRCC, and four elected by RCICs themselves. That mix is deliberate, it's meant to balance public accountability (ministerial appointees, often from outside the profession) against practitioner input (peer-elected members who understand the day-to-day realities of the work).
The March 2026 appointments
- New: France Houle, Ad. E., Full Professor, Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal
- New: Marc Spector, Deputy Registrar, Home Construction Regulatory Authority
- Reappointed: Timothy D'Souza, Senior Vice President, Finance and Business Operations, Diabetes Canada
- Reappointed: Rev. Jennifer Henry, Executive Minister, Organizational Development and Strategy, The United Church of Canada
- Reappointed: Ben Rempel, former Assistant Deputy Minister of Immigration, Manitoba
These appointments come out of an open, merit-based selection process specifically designed to build a diverse, qualified candidate pool, so this isn't a closed-door process.
Why do I bother writing about this on our blog? Because I think it's genuinely useful for prospective clients to understand that the regulator overseeing people in my profession isn't a rubber stamp, it has real governance, external accountability, and a discipline process behind it. When you're deciding who to trust with a PR application or a refusal appeal, checking that your consultant is in good standing on the CICC public register isn't a formality, it's the whole point of the system working as designed. You can read more about my own standing and background on the About page.