The Liberal Government of Canada has introduced legislation that will expand the use of preclearance facilities by United States border officials in Canada, and authorize Canada to set up such facilities in the United States. Michael Greene, Q.C. is an immigration lawyer in Calgary. He served as the National Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship & Immigration Section in 2000-2001. He can be reached at mgreene@sgimm.ca Michael joins to provide an overview of Bill C-23, the Preclearance Act, and resulting issues including the presence of armed US border officials in Canada, detention, the application of the Charter and the potential denial of entry to Canadian permanent residents. The United States currently operates border preclearance facilities at a number of airports and ports in Canada. These are staffed and operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. Travelers pass through U.S. Immigration and Customs, Public Health, and Agriculture inspections before boarding their aircraft, ship, or train. Bill C-23 will: provide United States preclearance officers with enhanced powers, including the ability to carry firearms; establish that the exercise of any power and performance of any duty or function by a United States preclearance officer is subject to Canadian law, including the Canadian … Read More
Law Cans Episode 3 – R v. Alex (Challenging Breathalyzer Results) with Kyla Lee
Borderlines Podcast Episode 16 – The History of the Immigration Consultant Profession in Canada
In this episode we discuss the history of the immigration consultant profession in Vancouver and current issues that the profession faces from a regulatory and governance perspective. Ron McKay is a past Chair of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council’s Board of Directors. He is a former Immigration Officer who spent ten years at the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. He is also a past National President of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants. Topics 3:30 – We discuss the history of immigration consultants in Canada, including an in depth discussion of the Mangat case, in which the Supreme Court of Canada determined that the federal government could allow non-lawyers to practice immigration law. We also discussed the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (“CSIC”), the first regulatory body of immigration consultants in Canada. 24:00 – We get into governance issues at regulatory oversight issues at both CSIC and the ICCRC. 38:30 – We talk about ghost consultants and what the immigration consultancy profession can do about it. 50:00 – We discuss how the immigration consulting profession needs to be regulated yet at the same time be independent of the government. 53:00 – Steven asks how the ICCRC determines how many consultants there should be. … Read More
Borderlines #15 – Gordon Maynard on New Can Consulting and the Biggest Immigration Fraud in Vancouver History
Xun (Sunny) Wang was a ghost consultant who is estimated to have made $10 million by filing fraudulent immigration applications for clients of his two firms, New Can Consulting and Well Long Enterprises. Mr. Wang, who is currently serving an eight year jail sentence, and his staff, apparently put fake passport stamps in peoples’ passports in order to lie about having spent sufficient time in Canada to qualify for various immigration programs. The Canada Border Services Agency is now endeavouring through what the Department is calling Project New Can to remove over 1,500 former clients of his for having committed misrepresentation to obtain Canadian permanent residency and/or maintain it. All of the lawyers involved in this podcast have and are representing some of his clients in these removal proceedings. Gordon Maynard is a Vancouver based lawyer who practices exclusively in Canadian immigration law. He is a past Chair of the Canadian Bar Association’s Immigration Section. Topics 1:39 – Gordon provides an overview of the timeline involved in Sunny Wang’s alleged fraud. 7:50 – What constitutes misrepresentation in Canadian immigration applications? 10:30 – We discuss some of the mechanics of what Sunny Wang is alleged to have done. 12:00 – Many New Can clients are saying that … Read More
Borderlines Episode #13 – Problems with the Safe Third Country Agreement and Interdiction, With Efrat Arbel
Efrat Arbel is Assistant Professor at the Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia. She is an executive member of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers. A list of Dr. Arbel’s recent publications can be found here. During this podcast we talk about three areas that Dr. Arbel has recently focused her research on. These include the distinction between physical borders and legal borders in the refugee context, how interdiction works, and the Safe Third Country Agreement. The Safe Third Country Agreement between Canada and the United States requires that persons seeking refugee protection must make a claim in the first country they arrive in unless they qualify for an exception to the Agreement. In other words, an asylum seeker who wishes to seek refugee status in Canada will typically be denied the ability to do so if they attempt to enter Canada by land from the United States. This episode was recorded before President Trump’s recent Executive Order imposed a moratorium on asylum claims in the United States. President Trump’s decision has only intensified and magnified many of the issues that Dr. Arbel discusses in this podcast. 1:43 – Dr. Arbel explains different concepts of what … Read More
Borderlines Episode #12 – Tips on making written and oral arguments in court, with Justice Alan Diner
The Honourable Alan S. Diner is a judge with the Federal Court of Canada. Prior to his appointment, Justice Diner headed Baker & McKenzie LLP’s immigration practice. He was also involved with managing the establishment and implementation of Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program for the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. We are grateful to Justice Diner for the time that he took in preparing for this podcast about tips and best practices in appearing before the Federal Court of Canada, including in providing a customised powerpoint, which can be found on our website at http://www.borderlines.ca. As Justice Diner notes, many of the tips and strategies contained in this episode are applicable beyond judicial review, and will be beneficial to anyone preparing written submissions or making oral presentations. A review of what we discussed is as follows: 1:18 – Justice Diner describes his history going from being an immigrant in Canada to leading a corporate immigration law practice to becoming a judge with the Federal Court of Canada. 14:30 – We discuss how the practice of immigration law is changing as larger firms and global accounting firms enter the practice area. 18:30 – Justice Diner provides his first three tips to lawyers appearing … Read More
Borderlines Episode #11 – Tensions between political oversight and politicizing officer decisions, with Lorne Sossin
We discuss three topics. The first is the oversight of police, CBSA, and immigration officers in Canada. How do we ensure that there is political oversight and accountability without politicizing the day to day operations of individual officers? The second topic is a discussion of Charter rights and Charter values in the immigration context. Finally, we talk about whether it is OK that in Canada individual immigration officers can create an apply their own standards of the law. Lorne Sossin is the Dean of Osgoode Hall Law School. Prior to his appointment, he was a Professor with the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto. Dean Sossin also serves on the Boards of the National Judicial Institute and the Law Commission of Ontario. He has also acted as Research Director for the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Task Force on the Independence of the Bar. A review of what we discussed is as follows: 00:00 – Introduction 00:51 – Steven Meurrens says what one of his favorite things about law school is. 01:14 – Overview of topics 02:55 – The role of federalism in police oversight. 06:30 – Is criminal law local or is it national? 09:09 – What … Read More
Borderlines Episode 10 – Canadian National Security Law, Bill C-51 and Trudeau’s Reforms, with Professor Kent Roach
This episode contains an overview of the history of national security law in Canada, starting with the MacDonald Commission and the October Crisis of 1970, the formation of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, the Air India bombing, the Arar Inquiry, 9/11, and Bill C-51. We also discuss the roles of CSIS, the Communication Security Establishment, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency, in administering Canadian national security legislation. Finally, Professor Roach provides an in depth analysis of several controversial elements of the previous Conservative Government of Canada’s Bill C-51, and the current Liberal Government of Canada’s response under Prime Minister Trudeau. Kent Roach is a Professor of Law and the Prichard-Wilson Chair of Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and is considered to be one of the foremost experts on national security legislation in Canada. Kent begins by providing an overview of national security law in Canada, starting with the MacDonald Commission and the October Crisis of 1970, the formation of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, the Air India bombing, the Arar Inquiry, 9/11, and Bill C-51. He then summarises the roles of … Read More