Inclusion doesn’t always mean obvious, visible change. Sometimes it quietly reshapes entire fields, proving that genuine progress comes when we stop treating diversity as a footnote. Dory Jade knows this firsthand. When he first entered the immigration consulting industry over 20 years ago, it lacked clear regulations and professional standards. Immigrants faced rampant misinformation, exploitation, and limited access to reliable assistance. Today, as CEO of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants (CAPIC), Jade has dedicated his career to transforming this landscape. Under his leadership, the association has grown into Canada’s largest professional community in the immigration consulting sector, grounded in professional standards and a consistent approach to inclusion.
A Professional Journey Rooted in Integrity
Jade's journey toward immigration consulting wasn't initially planned. His early background in mass communication, marketing, and advertising provided him with a different set of skills, but it was witnessing the challenges that newcomers faced that redirected his path.
“I got involved in immigration because of the difficulties facing immigrants,” Jade recalls. “At the time, professionalism simply wasn’t there.”
That lack of professional standards was Jade’s entry point. He played a key role in shaping Canada’s immigration consultancy field as it began formalizing regulation in 2004. Initially serving on the boards of regulatory bodies, Jade eventually became president and, afterwards, CEO of CAPIC for more than a decade. His leadership also draws on formal training in governance; he holds the Chartered Director (C.Dir.) designation from The Directors College, a program affiliated with McMaster University's DeGroote School of Business. That perspective has strengthened his advocacy for ethical standards, professional accountability, and transparent oversight across the immigration consulting profession.
Jade’s significant achievements include influencing major legislative changes, notably the College of Citizenship and Immigration Consultants Act, and substantially expanding CAPIC’s membership, now numbering around 4,500 immigration consultants nationwide. Yet Jade insists the success has always been collaborative.
“One person cannot do everything on their own,” he emphasizes. “It’s always been about group work, with many people believing in this idea.”
Today, CAPIC’s community reflects the diversity of Canadian society itself. Consultants come from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds, bringing a wealth of experience to the profession.
“Our members speak with one voice to the government and the public,” Jade explains. “They have a very strong presence across Canada.”
Inclusion plays a fundamental role in how CAPIC approaches its work and leadership. Jade himself is legally blind, and his experiences with visual impairment have informed CAPIC’s approach to accessibility and inclusion. His leadership reinforces the idea that diversity is a lived reality, integrated into daily practice.
“I believe CAPIC is one of Canada’s most diverse organizations, encompassing ethnicity, disability, and accessibility,” Jade states. “Nothing shy of having their CEO visually impaired.”
Practical Inclusion and Real-world Accessibility
Accessibility, Jade emphasizes, should never be just symbolic; it must become practically embedded into everyday operations. Beyond CAPIC, he also serves on the board of the Société de Transport de Laval (STL), Laval’s public transit authority, representing people with disabilities. His work with STL contributed to a significant project to transform Laval’s public transport network into one fully compliant with universal accessibility standards.
“Accessibility is fundamental in whatever I do and think about. It's a part of my life,” Jade explains.
“The STL project was a huge achievement, giving people real transportation access. Accessibility means every single person needs to have these options available to them.”
In his own professional life, Jade manages visual impairment challenges daily. He relies on specialized apps like DreamVoice, which read text aloud and describe images, enabling him to work effectively. While barriers still exist, Jade prefers to turn them into opportunities. He highlights how navigating these challenges has often encouraged better communication in professional interactions.
“When vision becomes a barrier, I always try to convert it into an opportunity,” he says. “Sometimes my vision impairment prompts others to communicate more clearly. That helps me understand situations better.”
A cornerstone of Jade’s professional legacy has been CAPIC’s fight against unauthorized practitioners (UAPs) who prey upon vulnerable newcomers. These UAPs, Jade says, are responsible for considerable harm in the immigration process. CAPIC coordinates closely with government agencies, law societies, and international partners to target this issue aggressively.
“We have a major campaign against unauthorized representatives. We report them to the Canada Border Services Agency and the regulator,” Jade emphasizes. “This helps our profession reach the next level: more professional, better regulated, allowing consultants to deliver their best.”
CAPIC has played a pivotal role in raising educational standards for immigration consultants in Canada. Thanks to their sustained lobbying efforts, postgraduate-level diplomas have become a regulatory prerequisite before candidates can apply for licensure. These programs are delivered by prestigious academic institutions such as Queen’s Faculty of Law and Université de Montréal. Jade notes that the ideal immigration consultant is not only well-trained and up to date with regulations but also operates with transparency and a strong sense of integrity.
Fostering Genuine Workplace Inclusion
For Jade, inclusion extends beyond client support to shaping the professional environment itself. He speaks candidly about the often-overlooked biases against people with disabilities in workplaces.
“Selecting any candidate based on disability, or avoiding them, is completely unfounded. It’s discrimination, bluntly,” Jade says firmly. “Some individuals with disabilities outperform equally competent colleagues. I always say, there are people who can see who dream about having my position. Yet I’m here and performing well.”
He encourages corporations, associations, and governments alike to integrate accessibility into their fundamental operations, rather than treating it as a peripheral issue or simply a compliance requirement.
Looking ahead, Jade predicts a future where immigration consultancy becomes even more professionalized and rigorously regulated. However, his vision extends to sustained efforts toward deeper inclusion and accessibility across Canadian society as a whole.
Reflecting on his own life and career, Jade offers a perspective shaped by personal experience:
“I am so glad I did not know earlier about my condition,” he says honestly. "If I had known I was going to lose my sight, maybe I wouldn’t have tried at all. Maybe I wouldn’t have done anything I've achieved.”
Instead, he found his path, despite uncertainty. It’s a path he's convinced others can also find, despite barriers or prejudice.
“If you have a skill, just use it. Period,” Jade concludes. “You don’t need to think about whether you see or don’t see, walk or don’t walk. It is what it is.”
With these words, Dory Jade encapsulates his professional philosophy and the essence of CAPIC’s mission: integrity, clarity, and genuine inclusion as everyday realities. His career illustrates how sustained leadership can embed these values into the structures that guide professional practice.
