Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Time for Artificial Intelligence to Replace Front Line Immigration Officers

Summary: The article argues that the decision to grant a visitor visa to Canada is often subjective and relies heavily on the discretion of the immigration officer, who may have personal biases or be overworked. This can lead to arbitrary decisions and frustration for applicants and their families. The author suggests that artificial intelligence could be used to make the decision-making process more objective and less dependent on human intuition. He also references the work of Daniel Kahneman, a behavioral economist, who found that relying on intuition for decision-making can result in systematic errors. The author suggests that the process of granting a visitor visa could benefit from a more systematic approach like the one Kahneman used in the Israeli Army. Canada welcomes millions of tourists per year. 2017 was a banner year with over 20 million trips of one or more nights. Many of these individuals and families are more than just tourists taking in Canada’s cultural and natural attractions. A significant number of those living here are born outside Canada, and many others are the children of immigrants. Many of those visiting Canada are coming to see family. Family members separated by thousands of miles and perhaps many... Read more →

Podcast/Interview on Immigration Law and Policy and the Practice of Immigration Law

It was a pleasure to contribute to this interesting new vehicle seeking to increase knowledge and awareness of topical legal matters: Launched in January by students in Pro Bono Students Canada – Calgary (PBSC), the Hearsay Podcast bridges what students learn in the classroom to real-world situations that the general public can relate to. The first season of the podcast is hosted by third-year student Kaye Booth and second-year student Marcus Threndyle, and is produced by third-year student Lyndon Radchenka. You can listen to my discussion on immigration law and policy and the practice of immigration law. Kaye Booth: From Pro Bono Students Canada, the University of Calgary Faculty of Law, and CJSW 90.9, this is Hearsay. Marcus Threndyle: Welcome to the podcast. I'm Marcus Threndyle. Kaye Booth: And I'm Kaye Booth. So, before we get started today, this podcast is for educational purposes only. This is not to be taken as legal advice. Marcus Threndyle: That's right. We are here to offer education, not advice. Kaye Booth: So, should you need legal advice, please seek out a lawyer. We hear a lot about immigration in our media and from our Canadian politicians, as well as politicians to the south... Read more →

Partisan Politics or Semantics? Are Those that Cross the Border committing a Crime or Not?

There seems to be some controversy as to what to call those crossing the border into Canada. Tristin Hopper is an award winning reporter who has been writing on this saga for some months. He canvassed a number of viewpoints on this issue, including my own in his recent piece for the National Post. The spat speaks to an intractable political fight in Canada: Whether the approximately 50 people per day streaming into Canada over the U.S. border are “illegal” or “irregular” migrants. The Immigration and Refugee Board uses the term “irregular” when referring to the more than 23,000 refugee claimants who have walked into Canada since January 2017 without first passing through an official port of entry. The RCMP, meanwhile, prefers the neutral term “interceptions.” The official CBC language guide favours “illegal border crossers,” calling it “bureaucratic jargon” to use the term “irregular” favoured by Ottawa. Is this partisan politics or meaningless semantics? Is this a case that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet"? My thoughts? Asylum seekers are not prosecuted if they cross the border in this fashion; however, should they fail the Crown certainly can take that action. If they succeed, they will... Read more →

Complacency = deportation

Summary: A family who lived in Alberta for almost a decade after making a refugee claim relied on the advice of a relative and later arguably insufficient legal representation. The refugee claim was refused and the family again sought non expert counsel and despite having years to do so failed to submit a H&C application -their best shot to remain in Canada. They finally hired an immigration lawyer, who filed a humanitarian and compassionate application two months before their expected removal, but it was too late. The only suggestion is to take immigration matters seriously, avoid advice from non-professionals, and seek second opinions. People should be vigilant and not complacent until a permanent resident status is achieved. It was an interesting June. One of the more notable but unfortunate cases involved a family that has lived in Alberta for close to a decade. After coming to Canada, they made a refugee claim. They were assisted at that time by, I’m sure, a well meaning relative. They had a lawyer represent them for the hearing –through Legal Aid. Now there is nothing wrong with legal representation on this basis, however, the stark reality is that there have been serious cutbacks to... Read more →

The Ripple Effect - How US Immigration Policy Impacts Canada - Interview on Global News Calgary June 30, 2018

Bindu Suri: The debate over immigration policies in the US has some north of the border questioning if Canada is doing enough to address our own immigration concerns. Raj Sharma, an immigration lawyer here in Calgary, has been following this issue very closely, he joins us this morning. Thanks for coming in. Raj Sharma: My pleasure. Bindu Suri: This is an issue we've been talking about for weeks of course and although it's happening in the United States Canadian's are very familiar with it because of just listening to the stories, it really impacts you and there's a lot of debate on both sides. What you say is that what Canadians may not realize is that it may impact us more than we think because of a ripple effect. Can you explain that to us? Raj Sharma: For sure. What we're seeing right now and this is a phenomenon that started about 2014 so we're seeing the complete breakdown of states in Central America. We have Honduras and El Salvador with unbelievably dire situations, we have a homicide rate in these countries that's higher than countries that are experiencing civil war for example. The complete breakdown of the state or... Read more →