Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

The Way of the Litigator

Comparisons between litigation and war/battle approach cliché; nevertheless there are many parallels between the litigator and the warrior. A court room, like the battlefield may well be the crucible that separates the charlatan or fraud from the real expert. "...The good news is there's hope … hope in the form of glorious combat, battle is the great redeemer, the fiery crucible in which the only true heroes are forged. The one place where all men truly share the same rank, regardless of what kind of parasitic scum they were going in." Master Sergeant Farell, The Edge of Tomorrow The undefeated Miyamoto Musashi (d.1645) is perhaps the most famous and most highly respected of all ronin (an analogous term is shugyosha). At 16, Musashi embraced the life of ronin and renounced all material possessions save his weapon and that which he could carry with him. Musashi thus began an individualistic, non conformist and peripatetic existence. He went on to defeat over 60 opponents in single combat, ruthlessly exploiting weaknesses and employing unpredictable stratagems. While he did not practice duplicity or deception, Musashi was not above disturbing or agitating his opponent. In his most famous bout on Ganryu Island, Musashi arrived late... Read more →

Parents/Grandparents 2021 sponsorship process

This year IRCC will pull 30,000 “interest to sponsor” forms from the remaining 2020 pool. The draw will take place the week of September 20, 2021. Those who submitted their interests last year, may have a chance this year. They’ll need to keep an eye out for their emails for the invites. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/sponsor-parents-grandparents/selected.html Read more →

Afghan Resettlement Options

SUPPORTING AFGHAN NATIONALS To help address the growing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, the Government of Canada has announced two special immigration programs to help resettle Afghans to Canada. You may be eligible for one of two special programs: Immigration program for Afghan nationals, and their families, who assisted the Government of Canada Humanitarian program focused on resettling Afghan nationals who are outside of Afghanistan and who do not have a durable solution in a third country, which will include people such as: women leaders human rights advocates LGBTI individuals journalists and people who assisted Canadian journalists immediate family members of one of the above extended family members of previously resettled interpreters who assisted the Government of Canada Note: the full program requirements have not yet been released by immigration Canada. We are closely monitoring updates to both of the programs as they become available. Contact Qimat Zafar via email [email protected] or telephone (587) 700-7461 to learn more. Read more →

The Refugee Claim and Family Law Proceedings

What role does a pending refugee claim play in family law proceedings? In the case of M.A.A. v. D.E.M.E 2020 ONCA 486, the appellant mother brought her three minor children from Kuwait to Canada without the respondent father’s consent. On arrival in Canada, she sought refugee status for herself and the children. She claims she fled an abusive relationship that put her safety and that of her children at risk of serious harm. The father denied the allegation and claimed that she wrongfully kidnapped the children. The father applied for an order requiring that the children be returned to Kuwait. Subsequently, the mother asked Ontario to exercise jurisdiction to decide her custody claim. The basis for her claim was s. 23 of the Children’s Law Reform Act, R.S.O., 1990, c. C.12 (CLRA), which, despite other jurisdictional limits, permits an Ontario court to exercise its jurisdiction to make custody and access orders where the child is physically present in Ontario and the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the child(ren) would suffer serious harm if removed from Ontario. The application judge found that Ontario did not have jurisdiction under s. 23 because there was no risk of serious... Read more →

The Distinction Between Immigration Litigation and Application Work

There is a big difference between immigration litigation and completing and filing immigration applications. In the UK, there is a distinction between litigators (or barristers) and solicitors. Both of course are important but require different skills sets. Immigration hearings and appeals (and judicial review matters before the Federal Court) requires counsel that can effectively advocate and advance the client's matter. This was outlined by Paul Aterman in his statements to the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration in 2017: Mr. Paul Aterman: Thank you for the question. The cases I mentioned where we've reported counsel to a regulator, whether it's the immigration consultant regulator or a law society, are what I would call the more egregious cases. They're the clearest of instances where we feel there's been a breach of professional standards or the code of ethics. That said, there's a large grey area. The quality of representation may not be so bad as to justify reporting the person to a regulator, but it still leaves a lot to be desired. I think that's the area we tend to focus on in terms of trying to work with the regulator and with professional immigration consultant groups to raise the standard... Read more →

The Federal Court of Canada

Immigrating to another country can be complex. The applicant likely has to navigate policy, procedure and legal requirements. This is true even of relatively straightforward applications, such as visitor visas or applications to reunite with family members. The system is complex and is made up of a number of moving parts and stakeholders. The immigration system includes: The jurisprudence (the law --the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or Citizenship Act); Regulations and policy (the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, the Manuals, Operational Bulletins, the IRCC website, etc.); Lawyers and registered/regulated consultants; IRCC Officers; CBSA Officers; and The Federal Court of Canada I wanted to discuss the Federal Court in this post. Many clients are not aware of the role of the Federal Court. Some lawyers and consultants may not realize the limits of that role. The fact of the matter is that there are tens of thousands if not more decisions made by front line decision makers (IRCC and CBSA Officers and the tribunals that make up the Immigration and Refugee Board) every year. Some decisions can be challenged. However, the jurisprudence establishes significant deference and respect for the decisions of the various tribunals of the IRB and the decisions... Read more →