Blog
The views expressed in these postings represent the views of the authors and are not necessarily the views of the firm.
Edelmann & Co’s participation in the inaugural bilingual Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Law Moot
By Molly Joeck A version of this blog post was originally posted here. Edelmann & Co is honoured to have supported the University of British Columbia Peter A. Allard School of Law’s participation in the [...]
Deportations Resume – Happy Holidays from the CBSA
By Erin C. Roth On November 30th, the CBSA announced that they would begin enforcing removal orders and deporting individuals from Canada. After eight months without removals, the change in direction by the Department is [...]
The Under-examined Role of Racialization in Canadian Immigration
By Will Tao Last week, I presented at the NCIC 2020 on the emerging topic of Critical Race Theory. I wanted to share such a slice of my presentation for further discussion. — CAPIC-ACCPI (@capicaccpi) [...]
An ‘Organized Crime’ Allegation – when the punishment does not fit the crime
By Erin C. Roth. Participation in organized criminality is a ground for which a foreign national or a permanent resident can be found to be inadmissible to Canada and either not admitted to Canada or deported from Canada. It is a very serious allegation, yet increasingly it is being used by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to capture and punish individuals that were neither arrested nor charged of any criminal conduct in Canada. In effect, a person who the police did not even interview as a possible suspect can still face allegations of organized crime and face loss of status and deportation from Canada.
Americans: thinking about moving to Canada?
By Randall K. Cohn If you are an American eyeing a move north as a line of flight from political chaos in the United States, you are not alone. I have recently been fielding a [...]
Detaining the Uncooperative Migrant
By Siena Anstis and Molly Joeck This blog post is a summary of an article entitled “Detaining the Uncooperative Migrant”, which was recently published in a special issue of Osgoode Hall’s Journal of Law and Social Policy on prisoners, detention, and abolition.
“Terrorist Organizations” – a matter of discretion in Canada
By Erin Roth What does Canada consider a terrorist organization? If a person has given thought to this matter, the answer is likely ‘any organization designated by the Minister under Canada’s Anti-Terrorism Act’. Indeed, the [...]
Non-Discretionary Return for International Students – Proving Establishment May Be a Catch
By Will Tao On 2 September 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released new instructions which help to further clarify that Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and partner Airline companies, would be responsible for [...]
Why you should be arguing the Courts have been misapplying the presumption of state protection in refugee claims
By Erica Olmstead Refugee Law 101: A person will be found to be a ‘Convention refugee’ if they face a well-founded fear of persecution in their home country, based on a nexus ground, like race, [...]
Justice Favel’s Decision in Ouansa v. Canada
By Will Tao In the recent decision of Ouansa v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 632 (CanLII), Justice Favel allowed the judicial review of Mr. Ouansa, an Algerian national, on the basis that the [...]
Immigration Detention in the Age of COVID-19: A View from Canada
By Efrat Arbel and Molly Joeck* This blog post was originally posted on the University of Oxford Law Faculty’s Border Criminologies website as part of a themed series on border control and Covid-19. Please [...]
Section 37(1)(a) Organized Criminality & the Common-Law Defences
By Erin C. Roth In criminal law, a well-founded defence will absolve criminal liability. A defence is not an element of the offence, but rather excuses the defendant’s conduct as “morally involuntary”. As the Supreme [...]
Federal Court’s Decision in Lo and Three of My Interpreter / Interpretation “Best Practices” at the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD)
By Will Tao The Lo Decision In Lo v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) 2020 FC 684, Justice Elliot heard the judicial review of a Sponsor who received a negative decision from the Immigration Appeal Division relating to his sponsorship. [...]
Are the immigration offence provisions unconstitutional?
By Erica Olmstead Section 7 of the Charter guarantees that “everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person and the right not to be deprived thereof except in accordance with the [...]
Five Immigration Tips for Coming Out of the Pandemic (Part 1)
By Will Tao Five Immigration Tips for Coming Out of the Pandemic (Part 1) As the first wave of COVID-19 comes to an end in Canada, and immigration processes start resuming, albeit at a slower [...]
Taino v Canada: Has the Federal Court just endorsed the indefinite detention of noncitizens in Canada?
By Molly Joeck While COVID-19 has wreaked havoc around the world, killing hundreds of thousands of people and bringing the world’s economy to a screeching halt, the pandemic has done something refugee lawyers [...]
Take Care When Requesting US Police Certificates for Canadian Immigration Applications
By Randall Cohn Getting (and interpreting) US criminal records can be surprisingly difficult If you are a foreign national applying to live, study, or work in Canada, you will likely be asked to provide [...]
The E-race-d Migrant Workers of COVID-19: Why Canada’s Colourblind Approach to COVID and Immigration Needs a Major re-think
By Will Tao COVID and Migrant Workers as a Starting Point While we rush to seal our loosely-defined borders and legal exceptions, let us not lose sight of the reality of who it is ‘doing [...]
The “New Normal” – COVID-19 & The Immigration and Refugee Board
By Erin C. Roth As everyone is well-aware, COVID-19 has brought many legal processes to a near stand still. The Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), is no different. Registry offices are closed to the public, [...]