Immigration
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January 12, 2024
Gaza visa program raises serious security risks | Sergio R. Karas
On Jan. 9, the Canadian government launched a program that offers temporary visas to 1,000 Palestinians fleeing the ongoing conflict in Gaza. The initiative allows them a three-year temporary visa and work or study permit in Canada, contingent upon financial support from their Canadian anchor family members. However, admitting a large number of individuals from Gaza raises serious security concerns. These include challenges in screening for terrorist involvement, the potential strain on Canada’s monitoring and enforcement capacities, and uncertainty about the return of Palestinians to Gaza after their temporary stay expires.
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January 10, 2024
Supreme Court of Canada judge fell and injured his ribs, but top court says he remains on the job
Supreme Court of Canada Justice Nicholas Kasirer has had a fall that injured his ribs and kept him from participating in a Toronto legal conference where he was scheduled to speak, but the top court told Law360 Canada the Quebec jurist is continuing to “fulfil his duties at the court and there has been no impact on his work.”
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January 10, 2024
Ottawa draws fire for capping application intake as it opens ‘temporary resident pathway’ for Gazans
Ottawa has launched its promised temporary resident pathway for extended family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are able to leave war torn Gaza, but the new program has drawn fire due to its restrictions, including an announced intake limit of 1,000 applications.
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January 10, 2024
Federal Court’s new definition of ‘espionage’ widely broadens immigration officer discretion
In his decision in Li v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1753, Chief Justice Paul Crampton goes beyond broadening the application of “espionage” and amends the very crux of the definition.
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January 10, 2024
Navigating the digital future: Law Society of Ontario’s virtual verification update
New year, new rules! The Law Society of Ontario (LSO) has started the new year by implementing virtual verification requirements for lawyers and paralegals, effective Jan. 1. As Canadian society moves towards a more digital world, the legal profession is continuing to follow suit by adopting new virtual practices as financial misconduct and fraud continue to be a serious concern in Ontario.
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January 09, 2024
Sweeping espionage ruling creates uncertainty about student visas that Ottawa should fix: Waldman
Ottawa should address the uncertainty sparked by the Federal Court’s “very broad” interpretation of “espionage” set out in a recent ruling that potentially raises doubt about the admissibility to Canada of any foreign student seeking a temporary visa to do science and technology research here, a leading immigration lawyer argues.
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January 09, 2024
Nice, not-so-nice 2023 labour employment checklist
The new year is the perfect time to reflect on the good, bad, and ugly of the previous year. As many businesses made headlines in 2023 for either getting in trouble or spearheading exemplary causes, there’s a lot to learn from it all.
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January 08, 2024
When will government recognize true cost of trial delays? | Bruce Baker
COVID can no longer be used as an excuse for the lack of process to place individuals on the bench. The federal and provincial government’s lack of attention to this matter provides some reason to doubt the present administration’s ability to deal effectively with a complicated vetting process, or they are complicating matters by looking to provide avenues of patronage to ideological supporters of their choosing.
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January 08, 2024
Can first generation Canadians born abroad pass on derivative citizenship?
On Dec. 19, 2023, the Superior Court of Justice in Ontario made a historical decision in Bjorkquist et al. v. Canada (Attorney General), 2023 ONSC 7152 regarding whether Canadian citizens who were born abroad can pass on their Canadian citizenship to their children if those children are also born abroad.
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January 05, 2024
Fed Court broadly interprets ‘espionage’ in rejecting study permit for PhD student from China
Ruling on what makes foreign nationals “inadmissible” to Canada on security grounds, the Federal Court has interpreted broadly what constitutes “espionage” that is “against or contrary to Canada’s interests” — a judgment that could make it more difficult for Chinese and other foreign students to obtain permits to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) or other commercially or militarily sensitive subjects at Canadian universities and colleges.