I discussed the new (but old) immigration lottery process for Parents and Grandparents with Danielle Smith on CHQR AM770 on October 14, 2020. It’s been a bit of a merry go round with this non-economic, family class program. Parents/grand-parents are still subject to medical assessment; the sponsor is still required to meet minimum necessary income
There’s some good news for families looking to reunite in Canada. The parents/grandparents family class is reopening. Sponsors have a three week window, starting October 13, 2020 to indicate their interest in sponsoring parents/grandparents to Canada. 10,000 applications will be drawn this year; 30,000 next year … There are clear instructions as to how the
A safe and reasonable Internal Flight Alternative -or IFA -is often used as justification to refuse a refugee claim from Pakistan and Nigeria. The (availability of an) IFA must be addressed by counsel and claimant -it allows the RPD to deny a claim even if there is credible evidence that there is risk upon return.
Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · July 24, 2020 Interview with Danielle Smith -Court Rules Canada – U S Safe Third
I have practiced immigration law for over 17 years; prior to that I was a Refugee Protection Officer -sort of tribunal counsel to the RPD -the largest Division within the IRB, itself the largest administrative decision making tribunal in Canada. COVID-19 and the response to the pandemic was an unprecedented disruption to the practice of
History Safe Third Country Agreement between US and Canada – in effect since Dec 2014 CDN and US declare each other as safe for refugees Applies to refugees arriving from US at a Canada land POE … with some exceptions (family member in Canada, unaccompanied minors, stateless individuals) First legal challenge to the constitutionality of
Danielle Smith: There was a, there’s a major announcements that the premier did on some Monday, Tuesday, sorry. Mondays are running together. Can’t even remember what day it is, but you’ve got a staff holiday in the middle of the week. … I think it was Tuesday a major announcement and he had a number
Things to Consider if You Are Terminated By Sania Chaudhry This blog post only applies to non-unionized workers and those who work under provincial regulation. If you are in a union or work under federal regulations, then different rules apply to you. As the below is not specific to your case, this does not constitute legal advice. Please
Constructive Dismissal: What to do if you have been forced out of your job? By Sania Chaudhry This blog post only applies to non-unionized workers and those who work under provincial regulation. If you are in a union or work under federal regulations, then different rules apply to you. As the below is not specific to your
I predict that there will be an increase to the number of Humanitarian and Compassionate applications (for Permanent Residence) as a result of COVID-19. The pandemic is wreaking havoc with the plans made by many foreign nationals living in Canada hoping to make this country home. Many will lose their status and many will lose
The lawyers at this office are often called upon to respond to Procedural Fairness Letters -letters sent by Officers after there is a concern regarding the completeness/truthfulness/inadmissibility. As with many things in life, prevention is the best medicine. Applications should be complete and potential concerns should be dealt with (if possible) in advance. Applicants should
“Oh, what a tangled web we weave…when first we practice to deceive.” Walter Scott, Marmion Dealing with the allegation(s) of misrepresentation is a difficult task. In many ways, dealing with misrepresentation is harder than dealing with criminality. The consequences for a finding of misrepresentation are harsh -a 5 year ban on future applications to enter Canada and removal for
COVID (and our response to the pandemic) has changed our lives and the assumptions we made in the course of our lives. I think it’s essentially impossible to know the medium term impact on immigration. There is of course plenty of prognostication and prediction: But as the nation’s economy plunges into recession, millions are being cast
Exclusion Clauses – Article 1(E) Certain individuals are excluded from the grant of protection. These are the exclusion provisions; some don’t need Canada’s protection, and some don’t deserve Canada’s protection (Articles 1F..) In the case of the former: in order to be excluded from the Convention -a claimant’s status in another country must
We have written on the harsh consequences of omitting family members when an applicant immigrates to Canada. They are then precluded from sponsoring those family members in the future. The only recourse used to be a humanitarian and compassionate application -a remedy that was completely at the discretion of a visa officer. There is now
The Agri-Food Immigration Class pilot is starting in early 2020. Focus on attracting butchers, food processing labourers, harvesters for mushrooms ad greenhouse crops, farm workers for mushrooms, greenhouse crops, livestock raising, and livestock workers. Max number of applications to be processed under this class is 2,750. Eligibility: During the 3 years preceding their PR application,
Danielle Smith: …you probably saw that the press conference, a couple of days ago from the Auditor-General talking about the myriad problems that we have at the federal level, but this is one that we have known about because my guest has been raising the alarm about this ever since at the crisis of people
Tara McCarthy: A foreign worker from Edmonton is now in hiding. She says the owner of an Edmonton restaurant that sponsored her work visa tried to extort her for sex. If she didn’t comply, he threatened to withdraw her immigration application. The woman who can’t be named, due to a publication ban, was sponsored
Michael Higgins: An immigration plan to help reverse shrinking populations in rural Alberta. Jason Kenney’s Alberta Advantage Immigration Strategy would speed up processing and end large backlogs with an aim of bringing 10,000 newcomers to rural Alberta communities, giving priority to committed entrepreneurs … Jason Kenney: … who take big risks to turn a
