Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

CBC Interview -Impact of the PSAC strike on immigration and refugee processing

I was interviewed on the CBC at Noon program with Judy Aldous -discussing the immigration issue of the day -the impact of the PSAC strike on immigration, citizenship and refugee processing. Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · April 20 2023 CBC Interview Transcript Judy Aldous: …Raj Sharma is an immigration lawyer in Calgary and he is with us now on the phone -hello Raj yeah you shouldn't have been free right you had a client who was supposed to have a hearing this morning what happened? Raj Sharma: I had a case today, the hearing was to start at 11 the case itself was very compelling; my client was from Zimbabwe and was tortured in the past to the point that he lost the vision of his right eye and so we were expecting some finality and a positive decision. And yesterday we received an email that went out —that hearings and refugee hearings in particular were going to be affected by this strike Judy Aldous: What was your client's response to that and yours as well Raj Sharma: Well to some degree it is what it is there's not much that can be done. I mean refugees are already... Read more →

Temporary Resident Visas, the Use of Chinook, and the Limitations of Judicial Review

Haghshenas v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 464 Many Counsel were understandably intrigued and concerned with the government’s use of “Chinook”, by some early accounts, some kind of artificial intelligence tool used by IRCC in an effort to tackle ever growing overseas (TRV) file loads. In Haghshenas, the Court (Brown, J.) dismissed a challenge against a refusal to issue a visitor visa. As he did in Shahrukh Ali Khan 2023 FC 52, Justice Brown set out the [work permit] visa context (see paragraphs 13-16 of the decision). This case is notable because, in addition to the emphasis on the visa context and the minimal duties at play, the Court assessed the Applicant’s arguments impugning the legality of using Chinook which is in fact a Microsoft Excel-based tool developed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) designed to improve processing efficiency. Brown J. found no unreasonableness or procedural unfairness in using Chinook when making a negative decision on a TRV application. The Court felt comfortable that applicant was given an opportunity to present their case and the resulting decision was reasonable and procedurally fair. Justice Brown found that the use of the tool did not change the change the decision-making... Read more →

Is it Time for an Amnesty for the Undocumented and Without Status?

Canada has seen a significant increase in the number of people issued permits to temporarily work and study. While intake is high, many will not be able to navigate the various immigration pathways to permanent residence status. A significant number of these individuals may not want to leave at the end of their authorized period of stay. There are already, perhaps (nobody really knows), about half a million individuals in Canada already "underground" or without status/undocumented. The number of those without status in Canada therefore will only grow. Some are calling to address the growing population of undocumented workers. I suppose this means that Canada provide permanent resident status to those who have already overstayed their authorized entries or whose official authorization is about to expire. There are some new programs that seek to accept those who are already in Canada and contribute to their communities, but the take-up and volume is low due to eligibility restrictions. There is the H&C or humanitarian and compassionate application but as (now CJ) Justice Wagner indicated in his minority opinion in Kanthasamy, this was not envisaged as a standalone immigration class (I respectfully disagree). An amnesty or waiver is not without precedent. In... Read more →