The Honourable John McCallum served as Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada from November 2015 to January 2017. A Member of Parliament from 2000 – 2017, he also served as Defence Minister under Jean Chrétien, and Veterans Affairs Minister, National Revenue Minister, Natural Resources Minister and as Chair of the Expenditure Review Committee under Paul Martin. As Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, Mr. McCallum led Canada’s effort to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees over a period of three months. He also increased the age of dependency from 18-22, repealed conditional permanent residency and reduced family class processing times. 5:00 – The resettlement of 40,000 refugees in Canada. 22:00 – The division of immigration repsonsibilities between IRCC, CBSA and ESDC. Should they be combined? 28:00 – What goes into reducing processing times. 33:00 – Abolishing conditional permanent residence. 39:00 – Mr. McCallum’s approach to being immigration critic towards the end of the Harper era. 42:30 – The Barbaric Cultural Practices Act and the Niqab ban. 44:00 – Caregivers 48:00 – Helping as Minister on individual files. 54:00 – What goes into levels planning?
Borderlines Podcast #41 – Judges Virtue Signalling Inside and Outside of Court, with Andrew Hayes
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.
Refugee Claims by Number
The following chart shows refugee claims by province and year. Provinces/Territories 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (Jan – Oct) Newfoundland and Labrador 5 5 — 5 10 10 15 35 20 5 Prince Edward Island — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Nova Scotia 40 50 20 30 40 60 65 75 90 55 New Brunswick 20 25 15 15 5 30 50 45 45 30 Quebec 4,645 4,820 2,470 2,725 3,055 5,530 25,515 29145 31265 8970 Ontario 18,560 13,815 6,840 9,265 11,020 15,210 19,570 21170 26415 9385 Manitoba 140 145 75 160 320 600 1335 620 410 160 Saskatchewan 45 55 25 25 30 75 80 65 100 30 Alberta 690 610 375 485 760 970 1385 1545 1855 780 British Columbia 1,165 950 535 730 815 1,375 2375 2345 3850 1910 Yukon 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 — — — Northwest Territories — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nunavut 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0 0 Outside Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total – CBSA & IRCC 25,315 20,475 10,365 13,445 16,055 23,870 50390 55040 … Read More
Borderlines Podcast #42 – Section 15 of the Charter and Canadian Immigration, with Aidan Campbell
Section 15 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and benefit of the law without discrimination. Aidan Campbell joins to discuss the application of s. 15 of the Charter to Canadian immigration law and the implications recent Supreme Court of Canada decision in Fraser v. Canada. Aidan Campbell is an Associate at Mahon & Company, a progressive firm which practices in Criminal Law, Immigration and Refugee Law, Public Interest & Constitutional Litigation, Sex Worker Rights, Prisoners’ Rights, Professional Discipline. Extradition Law and Tenants’ Rights Podcast Notes: Section 15 of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides that: Section 15(1) of the Charter states: (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability; (2) Subsection (1) does not preclude any law, program or activity that has as its object the amelioration of conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups including those that are disadvantaged because of race, … Read More
The 2020 Report to Parliament on Immigration
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
Borderlines Podcast Episode 40 – Family Law Concepts That Immigrants and their Sponsors Should Understand, with Ari Wormelli
In this episode we provide an overview of family law issues that immigrants and their Canadian sponsors should be aware of, inlcuding the recognition of foreign marriages, how divorce works, threatening to have an ex-spouse deported and the difference between common-law and marriage and getting a marriage anulled. Ari Wormelli practices family law with YLAW Group. Borderlines · #40 – Family Law Concepts That Immigrants and their Sponsors Should Understand, with Ari Wormelli The topic is relevant to Canadian immigration law because sponsored spouses are statistically much more likely to get divorced than the general Canadian public.
Borderlines Podcast Episode 39 – Immigration Detention Hearings after Brown v. Canada, with Aris Daghighian
Aris Daghighian is a senior associate with Green and Spiegel LLP in Toronto. He represented the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers as intervenors in Brown v. Canada, 2020 FCA 130. In this episode we discuss the issues raised in the case, including how immigration detention works in Canada, what the disclosure obligations should be on the government in an immigration detention proceeding and whether there should be a maximum time that someone can be held in immigration detention. On April 1, 2021 the Immigration and Refugee Board issued updated detention guidelines in response to the Brown decision. They stated: As a result of the FCA decision in Brown and the feedback received through our consultations, the IRB has revised the Guideline in the following ways: Clarify that there must be a nexus to an immigration purpose for detention to continue. Reinforce the Division’s obligation to consider sections 7, 9 and 12 of the Charter in exercising its discretion concerning whether or not detention is warranted. Confirm that consideration of conditions of detention is an extension of the ID’s Charter jurisdiction. Reinforce that the Minister has the legal burden to establish that detention is lawfully justified and remains on the Minister throughout the … Read More
Borderlines Podcast Episode 27 – Civil Forfeiture in Canada, with Bibhas Vaze
Civil forfeiture is a process in which the government seizes assets from persons suspected of involvement with crime without necessarily charging the owners with wrongdoing. Did you know that in British Columbia the government can seize and forfeit your car if you speed? Or that police can “seize first ask later” for property that is less than $75,000? This was a fascinating look at an area of law that receives little scrutiny, especially in how it can relate to immigration. Bibhas Vaze is a criminal defence lawyer in Vancouver. 4:45 – An overview of New Can and how it relates to civil forfeiture. 5:30 – What is civil forfeiture? 13:15 – Who has the onus of proving there is a tracing of property to unlawful activity? 16:50 – Can the government seize property that is partially the proceed of crime or that was used to commit unlawful activity? 17:10 – What is unlawful activity in the civil forfeiture context? 19:20 – What is the size of British Columbia’s Civil Forfeiture Office? How much property has it seized since its inception? 20:30 – Do all civil forfeiture cases have to go to trial? 25:10 – When is the property actually seized? 29:00 – What level of connection between the unlawful activity and the property is … Read More
Borderlines Podcast Episode 18 – The Deportation Consequences of Criminal Records
The Supreme Court of Canada in October issued its decision in R v. Tran, a case which Peter litigated. Deanna, Peter and Steve discuss the issues that the Supreme Court addressed in this landmark decision, including whether conditional sentences are terms of imprisonment for the purposes of deportation and retrospectivity in law. This was the first of two Supreme Court cases that Peter arguedin Ottawa this year. While he was in Ottawa for the second case, he joined Michael Spratt and Emilie Taman, the creators of the Docket, a fantastic podcast about criminal law in Canada. Peter, Emilie and Michael discussed all sorts of issues regarding the intersection of immigration and criminal law, and Peter even explained how he got into practicing immigration law.
Top Source Countries of Immigration to Canada
One of the interesting trends of Canadian immigration during the past five years has been the explosion of India as a source country, the flat-lining of China, and the decline of the Philippines. There has also been a steady increase in immigrants from Brazil, Eritrea, the USA and Nigeria.