Category Archive

The Honourable Chris Alexander served as Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada from July 2013 to November 2015. He represented the riding of Ajax—Pickering in the House of Commons of Canada from 2011 to 2015. Prior to that spent 18 years in the Canadian Foreign Service, serving as Canada’s first resident Ambassador to Afghnistan from 2003 – 2005. Subsequent to being an Member of Parliament he ran for the leadership of the Conservative Party of Canada. As Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Mr. Alexander presided over the launch of Express Entry, the termination of the Immigrant Investor Program and the introduction of the Barbaric Cultural Practices Act, which prohibited forced and underaged marriages.   5:09 – If there was one misconception about Canadian immigration law that Minister Alexander would like to change what would it be? 15:00 – Bill C-24 and the revocation of citizenship for dual nationals convicted of high crimes. 16:00 – Whether there was a strong anti-fraud and anti-exploitation mandate during Minister Alexander’s time as Minister. 22:00 – Combatting forced marriages. 23:00 – Preventing foreign worker abuse by sanctioning the employers who abuse them. 26:00 – The Barbaric Cultural Practices Act 36:45 – Ending the … Read More

In R v. Kattenburg Justice Stratas of the Federal Court of Appeal cautioned judges against giving “virtue signalling and populism a go.” This prompted a largely philosophical discussion about the role of judges, a Toronto judge who wore a Make America Great Again hat in court, a Quebec judge who proclaimed herself a feminist before making statements about Quebec’s ban on religious attire, Ruth Bader Ginsburg criticizing President Trump, and defining what virtue signaling even is.  

On October 30, 2020, Marco Mendicino, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”), tabled Canada’s 2020 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration.  The publication of the Report to Parliament on Immigration is an annual occurrence in which Canada’s immigration department summarizes Canadian immigration statistics of the previous year and provides immigration levels planning for the future.  This year’s report was especially anticipated because of uncertainty over how Canada’s planned immigration levels would be impacted by COVID-19.   Where We Are Coming From   In 2019, Canada welcomed 341,180 permanent residents, the third highest level of immigration in the country’s history, exceeded only by 1912 and 1913. Of this, 74,586 were individuals who transitioned from temporary resident status to permanent.  The economic immigration class continued to be the largest source of permanent resident admissions, at approximately 58% of all admissions in 2019.  Overall numbers were also up for Canada’s family reunification, protected person and humanitarian classes.   IRCC in 2019 also approved 404,369 work permits and 402,427 study permits.  When accompanying family members are factored in, this means that the number of people who entered Canada with temporary status greatly exceeded the number of permanent residents admitted.   To … Read More

As the summer nears to an end, students will be preparing for the start of the school year.  They will be double checking that they have the most recent version of Zoom on their computers, and possibly upgrading their home internet.  COVID-19 has impacted everyone, and international students have especially been left wondering what their academic future in Canada holds. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has in response to COVID-19 implemented several public policies that international students should know.  Most of them can be found on the IRCC website here: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/visitors-foreign-workers-students.html; and here https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/service-delivery/coronavirus/temporary-residence/study-permit.html Prospective and current international students should check the above webpagse daily.  The date that they were last modified can be found at the bottom.  Unfortunately, IRCC updates its COVID-19 policies through stealth editing, so it may be advisable to save the webpage to PDF to track changes. Here are some of the key measures. Restrictions on Travelling to Canada As of July 15, 2020 international students who have a valid study permit, or were approved for a study permit on or before March 18, 2020, can travel to Canada for a non-discretionary purpose. In determining whether a student’s travel to Canada is non-discretionary, the Canada Border … Read More

Section 109 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that the Refugee Protection Division (the “RPD“) may vacate a decision to allow a claim for refugee protection if it determines that the decision was obtained through misrepresentation. Specifically, it states: Vacation of refugee protection 109 (1) The Refugee Protection Division may, on application by the Minister, vacate a decision to allow a claim for refugee protection, if it finds that the decision was obtained as a result of directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter. Rejection of application (2) The Refugee Protection Division may reject the application if it is satisfied that other sufficient evidence was considered at the time of the first determination to justify refugee protection. Allowance of application (3) If the application is allowed, the claim of the person is deemed to be rejected and the decision that led to the conferral of refugee protection is nullified. The approach to an application to vacate a decision granting refugee status involves two steps: First, the RPD must find that the decision granting refugee protection was obtained as a result of a direct or indirect misrepresentation, or a withholding of material facts relating to a … Read More

Canada is currently in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Its borders are closed to discretionary travel.  Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has suspended the processing of most temporary residence applications.  The Canada Border Services Agency has put a pause on removing people from Canada.  Civil servants are largely working from home.  The Royal Bank of Canada is forecasting that 170,000 fewer people will become immigrants than what was planned pre-COVID-19. At the same time, many provinces have begun reopening their economies.  The Orders in Council closing the Canada – US border and Canada’s airports to international travel are supposed to expire on June 21 and June 30 respectively, although they may be extended. The question that many are asking is what comes next for Canada’s immigration system. Backlogs While the processing of most temporary residence applications has been suspended during COVID-19 the ability of foreign nationals to submit them has continued.  The implication is obvious.  When COVID-19 ends there will be a massive backlog of applications.   Significant processing delays should be expected. The systemic delays will not be limited to the ability of visa officers to process applications.  The collection of biometrics at Service Canada and most Visa Application … Read More

Regulation 205(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations provides that a work permit may be issued under section 200 to a foreign national who intends to perform work that would create or maintain reciprocal employment of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada in other countries. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) state that visiting professors may be issued work permits pursuant to R205(b). Eligibility To be eligible, an applicant must: be applying for a work permit of not more than two academic years; to take a position with a post-secondary institution; and retain their position abroad. Visiting professors may also include those on sabbatical who are doing collaborative research with a Canadian post-secondary institution. The term “retain their position abroad” means that the professor must maintaing their employment abroad as a professor. Extensions Work permits for visiting professors are authorized for a maximum period of two academic years. Visiting professors are not eligible to extend their work permits under this category, and their employers must apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment to extend their stay.

Whether an individual is remorseful is a factor in assessing humanitarian & compassionate considerations. In Pu v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 600 Justice Diner held that: With respect to remorse, the IAD concluded that the Applicant’s remorse was not genuine principally because (a) she had continued to misrepresent her position in 2009, and (b) at the IAD hearing she had attempted to deflect responsibility for her earlier actions. The IAD acknowledged the Applicant’s expressions of remorse at the appeal, but found that she had had since 2009 to take responsibility for her actions, and that the Applicant was ultimately remorseful only for having been caught at the hearing — several years after her initial interview with CBSA, during which she again misrepresented the circumstances of the marriage. Although the Applicant disagrees that she deflected responsibility at the IAD appeal, I am of the view that the IAD’s findings were reasonably open to it based on the evidence before it. I also note that the IAD’s reasoning is consistent with other areas of law where late-stage accountability can weigh significantly against a party who seeks discretionary relief. To conclude on this issue, I will cite from the IAD’s comments … Read More