Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Patronage Must End At Immigration Board

Peter Showler, past Chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board (“IRB”), has discussed the problem of patronage at the IRB in his new book “Refugee Sandwich” and in an interview with The Lawyer’s Weekly publication. The Refugee Protection Division (“RPD”) is the largest division within the IRB. Showler has charged that successive Conservative and Liberal regimes have “larded the board with political partisans whose incompetence has ... resulted in genuine refugees being deported to their homelands to face persecution or possibly even death”. A failed refugee, who had claimed asylum against Egypt, alleging persecution because he was a Christian, is claiming that he was tortured upon his return to Egypt. If this allegation is established, it will underline the difficulties facing refugee decision makers and highlight the importance of appointing decision makers purely on the basis of merit. Merit based appointments make sense, however it would appear that appointments to the IRB are a major way for a new government to thank its political friends. During his tenure (which ended in 2002) Showler estimates more than half of appointees to the IRB were individuals with ties to the Liberal Party. Such appointments are made by the party in power –... Read more →

Changes needed to immigration policy

**Note - the following was published as a 'guest column' on page 15 of the Calgary Sun on December 22, 2006 ** The shortage of workers in Alberta is recognized and indisputable. The Alberta government predicts a shortfall of 100,000 workers over the next decade – a situation that could threaten over $100 billion of expected capital projects. The situation is not lost on our new premier who recognizes the shortage as a major threat to the booming Alberta economy. Are temporary foreign workers a panacea to Alberta’s labour woes? There are about 100,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada today (and about 10,000+ in Alberta), and it’s likely that that number will rise as increasing numbers of Canadian employers look outside our borders for staff. However, there are serious deficiencies with current government policy dealing with foreign workers. Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada deal with most situations involving foreign workers. Many foreign workers fall under the “low skill” category. These temporary workers are authorized to live and work in Canada for only 12 months. After the worker has adjusted to life in Canada, improving his or her English and is fully trained, Immigration... Read more →

Failed Refugee Tortured?

CTV News Article here on a failed refugee's claims that he was tortured after being deported/removed to Egypt. If the claims are proven, they would underline the difficulties inherent in making decisions on refugee decisions - and highlight the importance of appointing decision makers purely on the basis of merit and previous experience with refugees. Read more →

Deportation for Security/Criminality Reasons

This year there were a number of news stories report on the deportation of Bachan Singh Soghi – an alleged member of the Babbar Khalsa International and accused of being a security risk to Canada: Article here. Article here. Article here. Soghi had been accused of plotting to assassinate former Punjab Chief Minister Badal. He left India, arrived in Canada and claimed asylum or refugee status in 2001. He had also made an asylum claim in the UK that was not initially disclosed to Immigration Canada. His claim was rejected and his recent application to the Federal Court was also denied. The deportation illustrates removal proceedings in Canada. Generally speaking, inadmissibility is one avenue to strip a foreign national or permanent resident from their status and remove them from Canada. There are different inadmissibility grounds: Medical inadmissibility (generally arises before a visa is granted); Criminal Inadmissibility National Security Misrepresentation Non compliance with IRPA Inadmissible Family Member Serious criminality (criminal convictions for “indictable” offences or hybrid offences) and breaches of residency obligations are usually the main inadmissibility grounds against permanent residents. An appeal to the IAD is generally available for permanent residents. The IAD is not available to permanent residents who... Read more →