-
June 11, 2026
The Senate has passed Bill S-215, the National Immigration Month Act, which would designate November as National Immigration Month in Canada to recognize the role of immigrants in the country’s history and development.
-
June 11, 2026
The United States constitution defines a U.S. citizen as any individual who is a citizen of the United States by law, birth or naturalization. But this isn’t always as clear as it may seem, as some individuals — particularly those born abroad to one or more U.S. citizen parents — may or may not be considered a U.S. citizen, sometimes without even knowing it.
-
June 10, 2026
The Supreme Court’s controversial Jordan decision, which has sparked the dismissal of thousands of cases due to unconstitutional trial delay, is still good law, but stays of proceedings are not a cure for undue systemic trial delay, Canada’s top judge says. “One stay of proceedings is too many,” Supreme Court of Canada Chief Justice Richard Wagner stressed at his annual press conference in Ottawa June 9.
-
June 08, 2026
The Law Society of Saskatchewan turned out a “solid” annual report for 2025 — and members should pay particular attention to the implementation of limited licensing in the province, says the regulator’s past president.
-
June 08, 2026
The Federal Court has blocked the removal of Mohamed Harkat, an Algerian refugee previously found to have operated a guest house for an associate of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, been part of the bin Laden network and assisted Islamist extremists in Canada.
-
June 05, 2026
When a Canadian court or tribunal finds that a party has relied on a case that does not exist, the consequence is far from uniform. In one decision, the lawyer responsible was ordered to pay $17,550 in costs personally. In another, the order was $100. In 60 of the 177 decisions we reviewed, the adjudicator identified the problem but imposed no consequence at all.
-
June 04, 2026
The Tax Court of Canada has “reluctantly” upheld a finding that a father who cannot be removed from Canada but is not a “protected person” under immigration law is ineligible for the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), noting he had fallen through a crack in the legal system that the court first identified nearly 25 years ago.
-
June 03, 2026
The issuance of USCIS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0199 has generated significant concern among foreign nationals living and working in the United States on temporary visas, particularly Canadian professionals employed in the U.S. The memorandum has also raised questions among Canadian citizens sponsored for permanent residence through marriage or close family relationships with U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Much of the concern centres on whether the memorandum signals a shift away from adjustment of status inside the United States and toward mandatory immigrant visa processing through U.S. consulates abroad.
-
June 03, 2026
A failed refugee claimant sent back to Albania for having committed serious crimes abroad — including kidnapping, robbery and using forged travel documents to escape assailants targeting his family in a blood feud — has won a Federal Court order requiring the immigration minister to revisit rejected claims that he is rehabilitated and won’t reoffend in future.
-
May 29, 2026
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has taken a notable step toward institutional transparency with the release of its first annual Report on Misconduct and Wrongdoing for 2023-2024. The full text can be found here.
-
May 27, 2026
The federal government is suspending immigration documents for residents of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda and South Sudan to reduce the risk of Ebola entering Canada.
-
May 27, 2026
These days, there is a lot of chatter about AI replacing jobs — even those of professionals like doctors and lawyers. But the role of AI isn’t really to prepare a case for someone; there is far too much nuance to the practice of immigration law, and to what makes most cases successful, than can be boiled down to a formula that can be followed by AI. That said, more and more of the initial vetting of ideas regarding what kinds of status one might qualify for is being done through AI, with mixed results.
-
May 26, 2026
The Federal Court has allowed a judicial review in a case where a trucking company sought to hire temporary foreign workers but did not have ownership of the trucks itself.
-
May 26, 2026
The Federal Court has ordered Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to decide a spousal sponsorship permanent residence application within 90 days, finding the government failed to adequately explain why the application had remained unresolved for nearly seven years.
-
May 25, 2026
The Federal Court has allowed a judicial review of a third work permit refusal but refused request for a directed verdict.
-
May 25, 2026
The federal government has announced changes to visa requirements for eligible citizens from Indonesia and Malaysia starting May 26 at 5:30 a.m. EST.
-
May 22, 2026
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced that, on Oct. 19, residents will be able to vote on whether they want to hold a binding referendum on separating from Canada, saying she was troubled by a recent court decision.
-
May 21, 2026
The Federal Court has allowed a judicial review application finding that an immigration officer did not give discernable weight to factors in the applicant’s permanent residence application on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds.
-
May 21, 2026
The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has clarified the scope of Canada’s criminal inadmissibility regime, holding that immigration decision-makers may consider whether a foreign duress defence was effectively unavailable in practice, even if it was not raised at trial.
-
May 19, 2026
On May 19, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the chair and members of the Independent Advisory Board for the Supreme Court of Canada Judicial Appointments.
-
May 19, 2026
The release of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal’s latest annual report sets the stage for an increase in webcasts and a push to educate people on the importance of judicial independence, says the province’s top judge.
-
May 19, 2026
The Federal Court has allowed a judicial review application in a case where a foreign worker’s permanent residence application was rejected, despite his Canadian work experience potentially falling within an eligible category.
-
May 15, 2026
The Federal Court has struck an application brought by the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association seeking declaration for a right to counsel in immigration and refugee cases, allowing the motion by the responding ministers.
-
May 14, 2026
The Federal Court of Appeal has ruled that the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) must consider claims that the defence of duress was not practically available in a foreign criminal proceeding when determining whether a person is inadmissible to Canada for serious criminality.
-
May 11, 2026
National Interest Waivers to obtain a green card (permanent residence) in the U.S. are getting a lot of attention these days. With large backlogs creating long waits for some people applying for green cards, applying with a request for a National Interest Waiver of the usual labor market testing requirement to complete the process can make green card processing much quicker — if you qualify.