When a person appearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) is under 18 years of age or unable to understand the nature of the proceedings and there is no parent, family member, legal guardian, or friend who can act as a designated representative, the IRB will contract a designated representative to represent the person.
A contracted designated representative is a person identified by the IRB from, for example, a child protection agency or a law firm.
The IRB pays contracted designated representatives according to the
remuneration schedule for designated representatives.
Who can be a contracted designated representative
In addition to the requirements for
all designated representatives, contracted designated representatives must:
- hold a valid reliability status, granted or approved by the IRB or, as an equivalent, have a valid police records check or “verification request” which includes criminal records checks, vulnerable sector checks and any similar check, within the past 10 years
- complete a physical security and information technology security assessment if there is a requirement to handle or store protected information
- ideally live in the area where the proceedings are taking place
- ensure they fully understand the competency requirements set out in the
designated representative competency profile and
- fully understand and comply with the
code of conduct for designated representatives