When I tell people that I specialize in immigration law many people automatically assume that all of my clients must be Chinese.  This is because during the latter quarter of the twentieth century, and for most of the first decade of the twenty-first, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan) was the number one source country of immigrants to Canada.  However, as I first noted two years ago, this is changing. The Philippines has emerged as the dominant source country for immigrants to Canada.  I have witnessed this in my practice, and my anecdotal observations have been confirmed by recent Citizenship and Immigration Canada data.  The trend is clear: the future of immigration to Canada belongs to the Philippines. History The Filipino community does not have as long a tradition in Canada as does the Chinese and Indian populations.  Indeed, the first Filipino immigrants did not arrive in Canada until 1945.  Between 1946 and 1964, only 100 Filipinos immigrated to Canada. However, in 1981, Canada introduced its first foreign domestic-worker program.  These caregivers could eventually apply for permanent residency and citizenship.  In 1992, this program was renamed the Live-In Caregiver Program.  Since its inception, the Live-in Caregiver Program has been predominantly … Read More

On March 7, 2013, the National Post reported that Citizenship and Immigration Canada decided “two identical bids” for a government contract by coin toss.  I was quite surprised when I read this, and have since obtained a copy of the contract which was used to create a legally enforceable coin toss. When I was in law school friends jokingly asked me if I would create contracts for hiking agreements and calling “shotgun!”  No one ever asked me to draft a coin toss contract, but it is useful to know that there is a precedent if I am ever asked to do so. Please note that the document below was obtained through an Access to Information and Privacy Act Request, and to my knowledge is not otherwise publicly available.  I have also obtained copies of the coin toss contracts which show the names of individuals and companies involved with the coin toss, but have decided not to publish them.  The reproduction of this document has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada.

I will be presenting in Montreal tomorrow at the Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Law Section’s annual law conference on the recently changed Federal Skilled Worker Class and the Canadian Experience Class.  As part of my presentation, I have made the following copies of ATIP results below publicly available for download: ATIP 1 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP1.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on substituted evaluation; Several e-mail discussions regarding issues with the PhD program; Processing delays with the CEC; Issues with the 2D barcode and GCMS; Addressing problems with Indian Birth Certificates; and more. ATIP 2 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP2.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on working overtime to process capped applications; Clarifying the use of Academic IELTS; E-mails on processing reconsideration requests; and Several OBs (most already public, and some not). ATIP 3 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP3.PDF Contains: GCMS Shortcuts and Tips; Case Studies on Removal Orders and ARC; Cheat Sheet on Calculating the Start of the 5 Year Period for Rehab; Training guides for misrepresentation; Assessing medical specializations and professional degrees; Assessing Skilled Workers (Islamabad Caseload); Exercises on assessing Ministerial Instructions; Federal Skilled Worker Cheat Sheet; C-50 Summary; Australian Police Certificates; Criminality in the UK, equivalency sheets, and a whole lotta rehab stuff; War Crimes (including a chart of … Read More