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International Law

Canadian Immigration Blawg

Recent developments in Canadian immigration law and policy by a former immigration officer in private practice.

Post Frequency: 2.9/day

Last Entry: March 30, 2011 at 23:40:24

Q & A's on the recent changes to

Posted on July 02, 2010
Q & A's on the recent changes to the H&C (Humanitarian and Compassionate) assessment regime (from the CIC website): 18. Will my existing H&C application be affected by these changes? All H&C applications pending at Royal Assent will continue to be examined according to section 25 as it was prior to Royal Assent...

Sharma Harsanyi will soon be welcoming

Posted on July 02, 2010
Sharma Harsanyi will soon be welcoming new additions to the firm...

The new list of 29 qualifying occupations

Posted on June 26, 2010
The new list of 29 qualifying occupations (experience of at least one year required in the previous 10): 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture) 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 2151 Architects 3111 Specialist Physicians 3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 3113 Dentists 3131 Pharmacists 3142 Physiotherapists 3152 Registered Nurses 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 4151 Psychologists 4152 Social Workers 6241 Chefs 6242 Cooks 7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 7216 Contractors...

Interesting: "...all federal skilled

Posted on June 26, 2010
Interesting: "...all federal skilled worker and Canadian Experience Class applicants must submit the results of an independent language test before they will be considered." I imagine that 'all' means all applicants, including those from England, US, Australia, etc...

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Lots of changes to immigration

Posted on June 26, 2010
Lots of changes to immigration -- changes to the federal investor program: "The Government is also proposing new eligibility criteria for the immigrant investor program so it makes an even greater contribution to the Canadian economy. Proposed regulatory changes will require new investors to have a personal net worth of $1...

Abandonment

Posted on June 25, 2010
I arrived at the RPD office this afternoon expecting to attend with my client for his refugee hearing. Unfortunately, the client did not attend. While the vast majority of claimants are interested in 'having their day in court' and are anxious to appear before the Board, there are a substantial number that do not attend at the hearing...

Tories forced to compromise on refugee reform

Posted on June 12, 2010
Looks like the proposed refugee reforms have undergone some changes. Because of a last minute withdrawal of support by the Liberals, Jason Kenney approached the NDP and Bloc. This political compromise has resulted in some changes to the bill that will eventually become law...

Her Majesty the Queen v. Daniel James Gomboc

Posted on May 26, 2010
Both Charlie and David are back from their appearance in Ottawa before the Supreme Court of Canada. Details about the case: Gomboc was convicted of growing marijuana in his home. Calgary police asked a power company to measure Gomboc's electricity usage...

CBSA Officers

Posted on May 26, 2010
A CBSA Enforcement Officer's job is inherently difficult. By definition he or she is dealing with potential infractions to Canada's immigration regime and has a mandate to uphold the integrity of the system. They see only the pathology and/or the 'bad apples' and it would be easy for them to become cynical and jaded...

Appeal to the IAD: Breach of the Residency Requirement

Posted on May 19, 2010
IRPA allows permanent residents to appeal removal orders made against them. Removal orders can be made against permanent residents on a number of grounds. In my experience, misrepresentation and criminality are the most common; followed by a breach of the residency obligation...

The spousal sponsorship appeal

Posted on May 16, 2010
I have written previously about the spousal sponsorship appeal hearing. This is the most common type of appeal before the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). The appeal is from a refusal by an overseas visa officer (Note - there is no appeal for a "In-Canada Spousal Sponsorship") of a spousal sponsorship application...

It's a hearing heavy two weeks.

Posted on May 09, 2010
It's a hearing heavy two weeks. Three hearings this week, followed by three more the next week. Refugee claims against Burma, Albania and Haiti. Next week will include a refugee claim against Tanzania, a residency appeal and a 'spousal sponsorship' appeal...

A substantial portion of my practice

Posted on May 02, 2010
A substantial portion of my practice is assisting employers with foreign workers. Generally speaking, unless the foreign worker is a US or Mexican professional (in which case NAFTA may apply), the employer needs to obtain a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) to employ an individual who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident...

Found the following helpful commentary

Posted on April 28, 2010
Found the following helpful commentary in L. Waldman's text on Immigration Law and Practice regarding the use of plausibility findings by the Board: "Plausibility findings should only be made in the clearest of cases -- where the facts as presented are either so far outside the realm of what could reasonably be expected that the trier of fact can reasonably find that it could not possibly have happened, or where the documentary evidence before the tribunal demonstrates that the events could not have happened in the manner asserted by the claimant...

Refugee claim tomorrow morning.

Posted on April 28, 2010
Refugee claim tomorrow morning. Some quick notes on the process: the refugee claimant bears the onus in establishing his/her claim for protection; for a s.96 claim the standard of proof is "more than a mere possibility of persecution" (which is less than the civil standard); for a s...

Disgraced refugee adjudicator/former

Posted on April 24, 2010
Disgraced refugee adjudicator/former city councilor/non-practicing lawyer Steve Ellis has been found guilty. Ellis was a former member of the Refugee Protection Division. He was found guilty of using his position for his benefit (IE he proposed a sexual relationship to a refugee claimant in exchange for a favourable consideration of her claim)...

The 'Balanced Refugee Reform Act'

Posted on April 19, 2010
As I've recently tweeted, I'm not a fan of euphemistic legislative titles. The 'Balanced Refugee Reform Act' should instead be called the 'Limiting Access to our Immigration and Refugee System'. The former title seems to imply that there is a balancing of interests...

Iraq refugee claim up next week;

Posted on April 18, 2010
Iraq refugee claim up next week; country condition evidence is unequivocal as to the threat and danger faced by women in that country. However, given the harder stance taken by the RPD (in our experience, anecdotal though it may be) nothing should be taken for granted.

Had a number of consultations today,

Posted on April 09, 2010
Had a number of consultations today, ranged from questions about an individual in the U.S wanting to make a refugee claim in Canada (yes, there was an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement); an appeal for a refusal on a skilled worker application (no technical appeal, just judicial review at the Federal Court which was not feasible in the circumstances -- application under AINP Family Stream better route); a seemingly straightforward family class sponsorship by a Canadian Permanent Resident (explained LICO, sponsor eligibility, and typical inadmissibility issues); and a consultation about the AINP Family Stream (whether funds have to...

Attended at the IRB/RPD on Wednesday

Posted on April 09, 2010
Attended at the IRB/RPD on Wednesday for a (Cuban) refugee claim. Paraphrased decision in Ward in my submissions: where fear is legitimate (or credible) and there is an absence of state protection, then it is not a great leap to presume that persecution will be likely...

Few can argue about the necessity

Posted on April 05, 2010
Few can argue about the necessity of refugee reform. I suppose the devil will be in the details. As a former refugee protection officer I saw many manifestly unfounded refugee claims. Given the stakes involved, and to paraphrase an old legal maxim, I would rather see 10 manifestly unfounded claims succeed than see 1 genuine refugee turned aside...

Just reading R Cuthbertson's article

Posted on April 03, 2010
Just reading R Cuthbertson's article in the Herald "Home to Haiti? Refugee's plight highlights system's challenges". The article is about "Marie", represented by this office, who was refused refugee protection by RPD Board Member Preeti Adhopia about a week before the devastating earthquake in Haiti: "If what has happened to my client [gang rape while her 5 year old daughter hid; murders of a brother and a sister] isn't atrocious and appalling, I don't know what is," Harsanyi says...

We've been retained by Mr. Elvir

Posted on March 29, 2010
We've been retained by Mr. Elvir Pobric and will be attending (more specifically, Bjorn will be attending as I am in Vancouver until later this afternoon) at his detention review this morning. The Minister is required to satisfy that grounds to continue the client's detention exist; that the client continues to be a flight risk (which was the argument at the last hearing).

"Rethinking refugees" - Globe and Mail editorial

Posted on March 23, 2010
The Globe and Mail is the latest newspaper and media outlet to call for refugee reform. This call is as a result of a refugee claim against Germany.

I completed an applicant's record

Posted on March 21, 2010
I completed an applicant's record today ... document was completed by way of PDF and will be filed electronically to the Federal Court. A print-out was made for the Respondent's counsel (Department of Justice for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), but massive amounts of paper were saved by doing this electronically.

Just got back from the Remand Centre

Posted on March 20, 2010
Just got back from the Remand Centre from meeting a client. This case will raise a number of issues, including a detention review, a PRRA submission, and perfecting a Federal Court application. It's a complex matter involving a high profile immigration matter...

Just reading re: David Headly (formerly

Posted on March 19, 2010
Just reading re: David Headly (formerly known as Daood Gilani), a Pakistani-American, and his alleged associate, immigration consultant Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Pakistani-Canadian. Rana is scheduled to go on trial later this year. Both attended a Pakistani military school together before each was arrested in Chicago last year...

I attended at the Refugee Protection

Posted on March 19, 2010
I attended at the Refugee Protection Division this afternoon for a refugee claim against Mongolia. The claim could be characterized as one under either s.96 or 97 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. While the claimant was found to be credible, the RPD Board Member still had to be reassured that there was no state protection or an internal flight alternative (IFA) for the claimant...

Last week was a busy one for hearings

Posted on March 16, 2010
Last week was a busy one for hearings - there were three ADRs - one for criminal inadmissibility and two for spousal sponsorship. Then there was two inadmissibility hearings before the Immigration Division and a refugee claim from Bosnia-Herzegovina heard by the Refugee Protection Division to end the week...

Rahim Jaffer just entered a guilty

Posted on March 09, 2010
Rahim Jaffer just entered a guilty plea to a careless driving offence. Driving under the influence/cocaine possession charges were withdrawn. The judge said something to the effect that "I'm sure you can recognize a break when you see one" to Jaffer. Have to say, if a permanent resident was facing these charges, I can almost bet that there would be no similar 'break' and that after the sentence, the individual would be facing removal proceedings...

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