[JimmyL]

Have him call his MP - I can't stress enough how helpful this is (or even better, have someone who's a citizen and lives in the riding call the MP).

The vast majority of MPs have someone in their constituency offices who spends 90% of their time on immigration issues. They know who to call at CIC, they know their way around immigration laws inside and out, and they know which organizations in the community are reputable when you need one for sponsoring, etc. This isn't something they do in their spare time; a major part of constituency work is helping people deal with the Federal government, and seeing as there is such a high number of immigrants in Canada, this often means dealin with immigration/citizenship issues.

Talk to them - and if they can't help you personally, they'll know every immigration lawyer in the area and who to trust.

[patio11]

n.b. Works in the United States too (my brother used to be the Spanish-speaking constituent services guy for a Republican congressman).

[kingofspain]

Thanks. While he's sorted for a little while, I'll definitely pass this info on for the next time he's due an interrogation. Annoyingly for him (and his bosses) they had to pass him over for promotion in case he was booted. I'm sure he'd love a bit of security!