Immigration
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November 21, 2025
Federal judges say they’ll take Ottawa to court over rejection of independent pay commission’s recommendations
The association representing Canada’s federally appointed judges decided this week to seek judicial review of Ottawa’s rejection of an independent judicial pay commission’s two key recommendations — including the commission’s advice that a $28,000 salary boost (on top of mandatory annual indexing) is necessary to keep attracting outstanding lawyers to the bench.
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November 21, 2025
The legal inevitability of the ostrich cull
However one feels about the recent cull of ostriches on a British Columbia farm, the result of the legal challenge to the cull order was inevitable because the wisdom of government policy may not be challenged on judicial review: Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. v. Canada (Food Inspection Agency), 2025 FCA 147, leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada refused Nov. 6, 2025.
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November 18, 2025
Highly skilled immigrants most likely to leave Canada: report
Highly educated and skilled immigrants are the most likely to leave Canada within five years of landing, according to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) released on Nov. 18.
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November 14, 2025
Navigating Canada’s visa pathways for the manufacturing industry
Canada’s manufacturing sector is grappling with a significant challenge: a shortage of skilled and semi-skilled labour. From machine operators and welders to industrial technicians, employers across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to fill essential roles.
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November 12, 2025
SCC denies requests by AGs & others to make in-person intervener arguments in historic case
The Supreme Court of Canada is denying recent requests from six intervener attorneys general — as well as counsel for The Advocates’ Society and dozens of other intervener groups — to allow them to make their arguments in person in the upcoming historic Bill 21 appeal, Law360 Canada has learned.
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November 12, 2025
The differences between U.S. B-1 business visitor and B-2 visitor for pleasure
Coming to the U.S. as a visitor is fairly straightforward. Whether entering the U.S. on a visa, using the visa waiver program, or without needing either of these because you are a visa-exempt Canadian, entering as a visitor has specific requirements. But does it matter if you’re admitted as a B-1 business visitor or a B-2 visitor for pleasure?
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November 11, 2025
Hate-mongers should not be welcome in Canada
On Sept. 19, 2025, the federal government announced that the Irish rap band Kneecap had been deemed ineligible to enter the country, saying: “The group have amplified political violence and publicly displayed support for terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah and Hamas.”
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November 10, 2025
Judicial vacancies hit 5%, threatening more trial delays and backlogs
Ottawa is lagging again in filling the country’s federal benches, hitting a five per cent vacancy rate on Nov. 1, 2025 — mostly in the critical trial courts of Ontario, B.C. and Quebec, which are constitutionally obliged to conduct trials within a reasonable time or face the prospect of staying criminal cases.
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November 10, 2025
Canada’s 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan: Toward sustainable immigration
As I discussed in my Nov. 5, 2025, article, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, a comprehensive strategy aimed at stabilizing Canada’s immigration intake after years of record growth. Recently the government published a supplemental report to the plan with new information, which I’ve included in this updated article.
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November 05, 2025
New federal immigration levels plan cuts targets for permanent & new temporary resident admissions
Ottawa’s three-year plan to reduce immigration to “sustainable” levels includes new “one-time” initiatives to “recognize eligible Protected Persons in Canada as permanent residents over the next two years” and to “accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027.”