Anyone who presents themselves at a Canadian port of entry is making an application to enter Canada. As such, that person is subject to an examination by an officer. The purpose of such an examination is to determine whether or not the person can enter Canada as a visitor, student or foreign worker, and also to determine whether the individual is inadmissible to Canada. Canadian immigration legislation requires that a person who is under examination must answer truthfully all questions put to them and also produce all relevant documents and information that an officer requires. An officer during an examination can also compel a person to appear at a later date for further questioning. When an Examination Ends The examination of a person who seeks to enter Canada ends only when: a determination is made that the person has a right to enter Canada, or is authorized to enter Canada as a temporary resident or permanent resident, the person is authorized to leave the port of entry at which the examination takes place and the person actually leaves the port of entry; if the person is an in-transit passenger, the person departs from Canada; the person is authorized to withdraw their … Read More
Law Cans Episode 3 – R v. Alex (Challenging Breathalyzer Results) with Kyla Lee
Danger Opinions
Section 115 of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that Canada shall not deport a protected person or a refugee to a country where they would be at risk of persecution of reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion or at risk of torture or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. There are exceptions, however, for people who are: inadmissible to Canada for serious criminality and the government believes that the person is a danger to the public in Canada; or inadmissible to Canada on grounds of security, violating human or international rights or organized criminality and the government believes that the person should not be allowed to remain in Canada on the basis of the nature and severity of the acts committed or of danger to the security of Canada. Determining Whether to Issue a Danger Opinion In considering whether to issue a Danger Opinion for criminality, officers will go beyond looking at just the conviction and the sentence, and will also analyze a person’s past and current offences and activities to determine whether a person is a danger to the public. The following are some of the factors that are considered: criminal … Read More
Law Cans Episode 1 – Douez v. Facebook (Forum Selection Clauses) with Chris Rhone
Global Skills Strategy – Short Term (15 or 30 days) Work Permit Exemption
On February 6, 2018 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) clarified how its short term work permit exemption under the Global Skills Strategy would work. Now, the IRCC website provides a much more comprehensive explanation of how the short term work permit exemption under the Global Skills strategy works. General Conditions The short-term (15 or 30 days) work permit exemptions are for certain high-skilled work and apply to foreign nationals coming to Canada to perform work that is both of a short duration (15 consecutive calendar days or 30 consecutive calendar days) and is in an occupation that is listed in skill type 0 (management occupations) or skill level A in the National Occupational Classification (“NOC”) matrix. Such individuals may work in Canada without a work permit. The periods can be as follows: 15 consecutive days (if the foreign national has not been granted a work permit exemption under the Global Skills Strategy facilitating entry into Canada for short-term work in the last 6 months); or 30 consecutive days (if the foreign national has not been granted a work permit exemption under the Global Skills Strategy facilitating entry into Canada for short-term work in the last 12 months). The short-term work permit … Read More
Minors in Immigration Detention
On November 6, 2017 Ralph Goodale, Canada’s Public Safety Minister, issued a Ministerial Direction to the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) titled Minors in Canada’s Immigration Detention System (the “Ministerial Direction”), as part of its National Immigration Detention Framework (the “NIDF”). The Ministerial Direction notes that: Canada’s immigration detention program is based on the principle that detention shall be used only as a last resort, in limited circumstances and only after appropriate alternatives to detention (“ATDs”) are considered and determined to be unsuitable or unavailable; The well-being of children, family unity and the use of ATDs shall be core tenets underpinning policy direction, in accordance with the expectations and values of Canadians; The best interests of a child shall be a primary consideration to be assessed against other primary and mandatory factors in legislation; That Canada has the objective to stop the detention or housing minors and family separation, except in extremely limited circumstances; That Canada will ensure that the detention or housing of a minor or the separation of a minor from his/her detained parent(s) or guardian(s) is for the shortest time possible; and That Canada will never place minors in segregation or segregate them. Prior to the NIDF and … Read More
The CBSA Search of Electronic Devices
Although it is uncommon for the Canada Border Services Agency to search the electronic devices of people entering Canada, it does happen. In an episode of the Borderlines Podcast, which I co-host with Peter Edelmann and Deanna Okun-Nachoff, we discussed the constitutional legalities of the CBSA searching electronic devices with Marilyn Sanford, a criminal defence attorney. This post provides a summary of the CBSA’s actual policies on the searching of electronic devices at Canadian ports of entry. The statutory ability of officers to do so derives from s. 139(1) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which provides that an officer may search any person seeking to come into Canada and may search their luggage and personal effects, including the means of transportation that conveyed the person to Canada, if the officer believes that doing so would be relevant to their admissibility. This can include discovering possible criminal offences, unauthorized work, or a sole intention to reside permanently in Canada without having first obtained permanent resident status. According to PRG-2015-31, officers are expected to understand and apply the following guidelines: Where the the admissibility of a traveller is in question, officers are justified in performing examinations of digital devices and media … Read More