Immigration Blog

The Secure Air Travel Act provides the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness with authority to establish a list of individuals that the Minister has reasonable grounds to suspect could be a threat to aviation or national security or intends to travel by air for the purpose of terrorism. Sadaf Kashfi, works for Edelmann & Co. She advises clients on complex issues concerning U.S. and Canadian immigration, criminal law, and during the COVID-19 pandemic developed a successful practice representing individuals accused of quarantine act violations. Her e-mail is sadaf@edelmann.ca The second, Eric Purtzi, is Associate Counsel at Fowler & Block, a criminal defense law firm. He has appeared at the Supreme Court of Canada 7 times. He is also a past guest on Borderlines, having appeared on episode 9 to discuss the constitutionality of retrospective laws. His e-mail is epurtzki@fowlerbloklaw.ca     How does the Secure Air Travel Act work? Who reviews naming on the Secure Air Travel Act? What is the threshold to be added to the list for possibly committing a crime in the air? Does the government have to publish how many people are on the list? How does someone learn that they are on the SATA list? … Read More

Prasanna Balasundaram is the Director of Downtown Legal Services. He represented the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers as interveners in the Supreme Court of Canada case Law Society of Saskatchewan v. Abrametz, which dealt with when delays can amount to an abuse of process.   2:00 Why did CARL intervene in this case? 6:00 Recalibrating abuse of process. 10:00 Possible remedies for abuse of process. 17:00 What is an abuse of process claim? 20:00 What is the Blencoe test? 25:00 Is a remedy under an abuse of process claim cash? 28:00 How can lawyers, stakeholders, and CARL collaborate on systemic issues? 31:00 Why does __ think that the Supreme Court did not address CARL’s argument about removal in the decision? 39:00 How does one choose test litigation cases?

I am constantly asked whether it makes a difference to hire an immigration lawyer or an immigration consultant.  I generally reply that what matters is the individual, not the profession. The statistics, to the extent that they matter since general statistics don’t reflect the complexities of files that individual practicioners may take, reveal the following. First, most applicant are unrepresented, however, the percentage of individuals who hire a lawyer or consultant is increasing somewhat dramatically. As far as approval rates go, the data shows that there is statistically no difference between hiring an immigration lawyer or a regulated immigration consultant, with the exception of protected persons, where for reasons I am not sure of the approval rate for consultants is quite low in certain years. There is, however, a noticeable difference in approval rates on temporary residence files. Indeed, the statistics there show that the average approval rating for individuals represented by lawyers is higher than unrepresented individuals, which is then higher than individuals represented by consultants. I do not know why it is the case that there is no real difference in the approval rate for permanent residence applications, and a more noticeable difference for temporary residence applications. The … Read More

Pantea Jafari is lead counsel at Jafari Law, which she opened in 2012. In 2022 Pantea won a successful group litigation for over 100 Iranian applicants whose applications were refused under the Self-Employed Class. Pantea successfully argued that the Canadian government unfarily changed the standards for these applicants after they had applied. We discuss the Self-Employed Class, the doctrine of legitimate expectations, breaches of procedural fairness, changing visa offices and how group litigation works.  

Three former counsel at the Department of Justice discuss what practicing at the DOJ is like vs. private practice. Jennifer Dagsvik worked as Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice from 2007 – 2017, and now is a Lecturer at Immigration and Refugee Law at the Bora Laskin Faculty of Law in Thunder Bay, and also a Director at the Newcomer Legal Clinic there. Nalini Reddy worked as a Lawyer at the Department of Justice from 1999 to 2017. She is currently an Associate at Gindin Segal Law in Winnipeg. Rafeena Rashid worked as a Lawyer at the Department of Justice in the Immigration Division from 2010 to 2016. She is a Partner and Co-founder of Rashid Urosevic LLP, where she practices immigration law full-time.   – Why they joined and eventually left DOJ – What they liked most about DOJ and what they liked less – The DOJ interview process – When a DOJ lawyer’s personal opinion about a case is different from their client’s. – Things it would be helpful for private practice to know about DOJ. – Things it would be helpful for DOJ to understand about private practice. – The training at DOJ. – Ways private … Read More

Peter Scarrow practiced Canadian immigration law from 1981 – 1991, opening the Taiwanese representative office for a prominent Vancouver law firm. We discuss what practicing high net worth immigration from Taiwan and China was like in the 1980s and early 1990s, ghost consultant fraud, tax avoidance, and being a private banker vs. immigration lawyer (Peter did both).  

When it comes to work permits there are certian issues that are somewhat unique to truck drivers. Mandatory Entry-Level Training Over the years Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Service Canada have had different policies regarding MELT. The most recent on this is that employers must confirm who will pay for MELT, if wages will be paid during the training period, and require documentation confirming. Language In Sangha v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 95 Justice Russel stated that “safety must surely be a pramount requirement for competence” in the case of long-haul truck drivers, and that applicants must accordingly provide evidence of compliance. In Patel v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 573 Justice Brown further determined that it is reasonable for an officer to consider the issue of an applicant’s ability to drive safely on Canadian roads when assessing the overall suitability of an applicant to become a Canadian long-haul truck driver, even if visa office checklists do not require this. There, the applicant had provided an Extract of Driving License which only listed driving licenses and did not list whether an individual had a history of any infractions or safety violations. In Singh v. Canada (Citizenship … Read More

David Thomas practiced immigration law from 1987 – 2014, when he was appointed Chairperson of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal. During his career he developed a large investor clientele from South Korea, ran to be a Member of Parliament, and started a charity that delivered vitamins to North Korea. 3:00 – The start of Dave’s career practicing immigration law both at a large firm and then starting his own firm. 6:00 – Practicing immigration law in the 1990s. 13:00 – Do immigration lawyers travel less than they do now, reduced communication with IRCC and other changes in the practice. 18:00 – Things learned about the bureaucracy as the head of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal 32:00 – Running for federal office 36:00 – Would David recommend immigration law? Is it becoming less fun? 44:00 – Starting a charity that delivered vitamins to North Korea. 51:00 – Comparing practicing immigration to the human rights tribunal. 1:02 – What the future holds.

A discussion of misrepresentation, including its application, consequences, the innocent mistake defense, failing to disclose past visa refusals, the difference between insufficient evidence and misrepresentation, and going after low hanging fruit.

Kyle Seeback is the Member of Parliament for Dufferin – Caledon. He is the author of Bill C-242, the Reuniting Families Act. Bill C-242 would allow a parent or grandparent who applies for a temporary resident visa as a visitor to purchase private health insurance outside Canada and to stay in Canada for a period of five years. On June 7, 2022, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced that it would enact these measures through public policy. The changes will come into force on July 4, 2022.