Immigration
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June 26, 2024
Gaza program increase raises security concerns | Sergio R. Karas
On May 27, 2024, Canada announced a significant expansion of its temporary resident visa (TRV) program for Gazans, increasing the number of visas from 1,000 to 5,000. This decision seems strange considering the security concerns raised by trying to screen individuals who have been under the rule of Hamas — a group designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of Canada.
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June 25, 2024
Canada sanctions Hamas ‘financiers’ in response to Hamas’s Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel
Declaring “we stand with the Israeli people and call for the immediate release of all hostages,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced dealings and entry bans of nine “financiers” of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad and two Hamas-affiliated financial exchange companies, “effective immediately.”
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June 24, 2024
Liberal government’s ‘intransigence’ and undue secrecy spurs litigation: information commissioner
A recent ruling from the Federal Court affirming a disclosure-of-government records order by Canada’s Information Commissioner illustrates the growth in litigation highlighted by the commissioner's 2023-24 annual report to Parliament, a litigation trend she says is fuelled by the Trudeau government’s court challenges and flouting of her legally binding orders.
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June 24, 2024
Canada’s caregiver programs: Expectations and questions
On June 3, 2024, the minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the impending release of two new pilot programs for caregivers from abroad, expected in late 2024 or early 2025. This announcement came just weeks before the previous Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot program’s closure on June 17, 2024.
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June 21, 2024
Public school boards are bound by Charter; tribunals’ Charter rulings reviewed for correctness: SCC
In an important Charter and standard of review case, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that labour arbitrators and other administrative tribunals “should play a primary role” in deciding Charter issues within their bailiwicks — which Charter determinations courts should review on a “correctness” rather than “reasonableness” standard — and that the Charter applies to Ontario public school boards, thereby protecting board employees’ reasonable expectations of privacy in their workplaces and shielding employees from unreasonable search or seizure by their employers.
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June 21, 2024
Feds ban foreign students from ‘flagpoling’ at border to bypass work permit wait times
The federal government has announced that foreign nationals will no longer be allowed to apply for post-graduation work permits (PGWP) at the border, according to a release by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
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June 21, 2024
Canada imposes sanctions on three Haitian gang leaders
The federal government has announced sanctions targeting three Haitian gang leaders in response to continuing chaos in the Caribbean country.
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June 21, 2024
Would Trump be inadmissible to Canada? | Sergio R. Karas
On May 30, 2024, former U.S. president Donald Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsification of business records in the first degree, a felony under New York Penal Law s. 175.10. This conviction arose from a payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, focusing on the paperwork generated when Trump reimbursed his attorney, Michael Cohen, for the payment. Even though this conviction is under appeal and may likely be reversed, it raises questions about his potential inadmissibility to Canada.
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June 20, 2024
Ottawa lists Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity in Criminal Code
The Government of Canada listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) of Iran as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code, effective June 19, 2024.
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June 20, 2024
Bill C-71 corrects many historic citizenship wrongs | Don Chapman
Bill C-71, An Act to Amend the Citizenship Act (2024) is the result of a Charter challenge ruling on Dec. 19, 2023, by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, in a lawsuit against the government by several affected Canadian families (Bjorkquist et al. v. Attorney General of Canada, 2023 ONSC 7152). The successful outcome was the result of legal arguments by the plaintiff’s attorney and wrenching personal stories presented to the court, including in-depth and historically solid research. The result? The Canadian Citizenship Act is not Charter-compliant as it violates the constitution by discriminating against first-generation born-abroad Canadians and women.