We discuss how mandamus applications work. Adrienne Smith is a Partner at Battista Smith Migration Law Group. 2:00 Does filing mandamus applications annoy Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada? 5:30 Has there been a change in the frequency with which mandamus applications are considered? 13:30 During COVID-19 is there a difference in filing a mandamus application between online and paper applications? 18:00 What is a mandamus application? 26:00 What is the legal test for a mandamus application? 49:00 During COVID-19 when a visa office is largely close
Borderlines Podcast Episode 55 – Risk Salience and Unconscious Bias in Decision Making, with Hilary Evans Cameron
Hilary Evans Cameron is an Assistant Professor at Ryerson Law. Prior to become a faculty member, Hilary represented refugee claimants for a decade. She is the author of Refugee Law’s Fact-finding Crisis: Truth, Risk, and the Wrong Mistake. Her paper on risk salience in refugee decisions that we discuss can be found here. She is also the creator of www.meetgary.ca, a website which provides guidance to both decision makers and asylum claimants on the implicit biases and thought processes that can influence decision makers. She provides training to the Immigration and Refugee Board on this topic. 3:00 The two strong pulls in the law of how a decision maker should make a decision in a refugee hearing that impacts risk salience. 7:00 Can a decision maker ever be truly neutral? 11:00 Does the fact that the refugee process starts with a removal order “set things up” for strict scrutiny? Plus how politicians can influence error preference. 18:30 Refugee acceptance rates have increased recently. Is this a result of new decision makers or the same decision makers applying different maxims. Can someone’s risk salience approach change over time? 22:00 The non legal things that can influence decision makers. 26:30 Studies on accuracy … Read More
Work Permit Processing Manual
The following is a copy of a manual titled Temporary Resident Processing: Temporary Workers CC8000. It consists of both the Instructor’s Guide as well as the Participant’s Guide.
Applying for a Work Permit After Entering Canada
Regulation 199 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations states: Application after entry 199 A foreign national may apply for a work permit after entering Canada if they (a) hold a work permit; (b) are working in Canada under the authority of section 186 and are not a business visitor within the meaning of section 187; (c) hold a study permit; (d) hold a temporary resident permit issued under subsection 24(1) of the Act that is valid for at least six months; (e) are a family member of a person described in any of paragraphs (a) to (d); (f) are in a situation described in section 206 or 207; (g) applied for a work permit before entering Canada and the application was approved in writing but they have not been issued the permit; (h) are applying as a trader or investor, intra-company transferee or professional, as described in Section B, C or D of Annex 1603 of the Agreement, within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, and their country of citizenship — being a country party to that Agreement — grants to Canadian citizens who submit a similar application within that country treatment … Read More
Bulk Processing of Applications
The following are instructions to officers on bulk processing applications. It was last updated on April 12, 2019.
Retrospective Legislation
In a recent Borderlines episode, Garth Barriere, Eric Purtzki, Peter Edelmann and I discussed the constitutionality of laws that are retroactive or retrospective. This episode can be found here: A link to this episode’s synopsis can be found here. The following post provides a more detailed written summary of retroactive and retrospective legislation in the immigration context.
Business Visitor or Work Permit Required?
The Business Visitor category facilitates the entry of a broad range of individuals who intend to enter Canada to engage in business or trade activities without entering the Canadian labour market. Business Visitors do not need work permits, pursuant to section 186(a) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR“), which states that: No permit required 186. A foreign national may work in Canada without a work permit (a) as a business visitor to Canada within the meaning of section 187; IRPR s. 187, meanwhile, states that: Business visitors 187. (1) For the purposes of paragraph 186(a), a business visitor to Canada is a foreign national who is described in subsection (2) or who seeks to engage in international business activities in Canada without directly entering the Canadian labour market. Specific cases (2) The following foreign nationals are business visitors: (a) foreign nationals purchasing Canadian goods or services for a foreign business or government, or receiving training or familiarization in respect of such goods or services; (b) foreign nationals receiving or giving training within a Canadian parent or subsidiary of the corporation that employs them outside Canada, if any production of goods or services that results from the training is incidental; and (c) … Read More
Do I need a Work Permit?
The issue of whether a foreign national needs a work permit is often confusing. In January 2012, I wrote the following article for The Canadian Immigrant. Do I Require a Work Permit In October, the Vancouver Sun ran a story about an employer who was convicted of misrepresentation. The individual had told his employees to falsely tell border officials that the employees were enteringCanadafor pleasure, as opposed to working briefly at a festival in Whistler. Presumably the employer’s objective in having his employees say this was to avoid having to apply for work permits. There is no question that lying to border officials constitutes misrepresentation. What is ironic about the employer’s situation is that from what I could tell (based on the Vancouver Sun article) his employees could have been honest about their intentions to work at the festival and still not required work permits. The reason is simple: Canada’s immigration laws are clear that not all work requires a work permit. What is Work? Before getting into examples of work that do not require a work permit, it is necessary to review what work does. The concept of work for immigration purposes is broader than many people realize. “Work” … Read More
Borderlines Podcast #51 – Inadmissibility to Canada for Committing a Criminal Offence, with Sania Chaudhry
A discussion of when someone can be inadmissible to Canada for having committed a crime which doesn’t lead to a conviction. Cases referenced are Garcia v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 141 and Dlieow v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 59 Sania (Ahmed) Chaudhry was counsel in Garcia. She is currently Legal Counsel (Professional Conduct Proceedings) at Real Estate Council of Alberta. 2:00 Introduction and an overview of Garcia v. Canada. 15:00 The purpose of Canada’s inadmissibility provisions. 17:10 What is the standard of proof for determining that someone committed a crime where there is no conviciton? 19:45 A review of Enforcement Manual 2 30:30 Determining equivalency and issues with inadmissibility findings where there is no conviction. 39:30 Dlieow v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) 46:00 Living in a society where the State makes everything a crime.