Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Good news! Reset on age of dependents!

The government has pre-published changes to the regulations, to change the age of dependants back to under 22 years and to eliminate conditional permanent residence. There is a 30 day comment period for both proposals. Conditional permanent residence: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2016/2016-10-29/html/reg1-eng.php If approved, the regulatory repeal is anticipated to come into force in spring 2017. Age of dependants: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2016/2016-10-29/html/reg2-eng.php The notice says that if approved, the changes "would be anticipated to come into force in fall 2017." Read more →

Visa Office Shenanigans

Spousal sponsorships involve, necessarily, some probing, some testing of whether the couple is in a genuine relationship. This usually means an interview of the applicant (and sometimes, if the sponsor is there, of the sponsor, or perhaps even a telephone call to the sponsor). I think these interviews are getting out of hand; I've seen some strange and inappropriate questions being asked of a couple. My client's husband attended at an interview; it was refused, but I'm happy to say that the matter was resolved by way of an ADR proceeding yesterday. Some of the reasons why I requested the ADR in the first place: The Officer made a decision based on some kind of "memory test" or made up marriage quiz; The Officer made an issue because the sponsor (a woman) was 8 months older than the applicant (her husband); The Officer seemed to take an issue with a well-prepared application and the fact that the couple made an "ATI" request (trying to determine the status of their application); The Officer seemed to castigate the applicant for providing apparently too much detail in his answers; and, perhaps most egregiously, The Officer asked the applicant to describe something (personal) about... Read more →

Criminal Law: Conducting a Jury Trial

It was an intense and arduous few weeks in October; Bjorn and I conducted a two week criminal jury trial at the Court of Queen’s Bench. I have, now, greater respect for my criminal trial lawyer brethren. It takes an incredible amount of time and a commensurate level of commitment to conduct a trial of this length. This effort is significant and takes a toll on the legal practitioner, both physical and mental. This is a world where there is little margin for error - there are - obviously - significant consequences for the client for any misstep by his lawyer. I'm reminded of Miyamoto Musashi's words: "the immature martial art is a source of great injury". The process begins with the jury selection. This is far different than what we see on television - and far different than what appears to be the practice south of the border; both Prosecution and Defence have a number of peremptory challenges (depending on the type of offence); there were hundreds in the jury pool, individuals that received the jury notice through the mail. The Jury Act sets out who is eligible (you have to be a citizen, a resident of Alberta, and... Read more →

Interview on the Angus-CBC Poll - Canadians Want Immigrants to Do More to Fit In

I was interviewed regarding the Angus-CBC Poll; apparently Canadians want immigrants to do more to fit in. I will say that I largely concur with former BC premier and Federal Cabinet Minister Ujjal Dosanjh in this matter: "Diversity is great if we can begin to live with each other in equality, in understanding ... but we also understand our collective obligations to building a better society. If we can't live together with each other properly and make concessions to each other, then this phrase that politicians use — that diversity is a strength — is nonsensical." A partial transcript follows of my thoughts on our current immigration policy that favours economic over "non-economic" immigrants: Speaker 1: If I can just first of all start by telling you what our data found or the Angus Reid data found. It found that there's pride in engaging in crisis issues like refugee crisis, that kind of thing, and taking into account humanitarian conditions. It also found that 79% of Canadians believe that immigration, we should be giving Canada's economic and workforce needs a priority as opposed to people in crisis abroad, which 21% of people believe. Do those numbers surprise you? Raj: No,... Read more →

Discussion with Danielle Smith on NewsTalk CHQR 770 the Curious Case of Maryam Monsef

I discussed the controversy surrounding revelations that Minister Maryam Monsef's date and place of birth are different than the official record with former Alberta politician Danielle Smith on her radio talk show on CHQR 770 at about 10:40 AM on September 27, 2016. A link to the relevant audio can be found here. A transcript of our discussion follows: Okay, I want to get to this next topic about whether or not Minister Monsef, Maryam Monsef is getting special treatment. The more I look at this issue, the less concerned I am about it. We'll see whether or not you feel that way after this conversation. Joining me now is Raj Sharma, a Calgary immigration lawyer, to help us understand what's going on here. Raj, thanks so much for being with me. Raj Sharma: Morning Danielle. Danielle Smith: I want to ask you about whether or not the circumstances that Maryam Monsef has found herself in is a fairly common circumstance for people who are fleeing from a war torn area where there's missing documents, a lot of upheaval. What can you tell us about what you know about this case? Raj Sharma: Well, I think you're right Danielle. I... Read more →