Welcome Home: An Immigration Law Podcast

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Latest Episodes:

S1E5 - Citizenship and COVID: Processes and Pitfalls Apr 27, 2022

Show notes

Chantal and Cathryn welcome Lisa Middlemiss, an immigration lawyer at Gomberg and Dalfen in Montreal to discuss the opportunities and obstacles of Canada’s new virtual citizenship process. With processing times longer than pre-pandemic and the sense of ceremony diminished for applicants, Chantal, Cathryn, and Lisa discuss the transition of interviews, tests, oath ceremonies, and some application processes to online platforms. Do e-citizenship processes just need a few improvements, or should we return to in-person citizenship events after the pandemic? We then dive into a discussion of IRCC’s new permanent residency/citizenship application portal. Lisa and our hosts examine the benefits and drawbacks of the portal’s self-representation model for both legal representatives and applicants. They offer helpful hints for walking clients through the digital process and advice on documents to upload in the portal. Will the IRCC enable the role of legal counsel in the future? In this episode’s segment of “Things I Wish I Knew,” Chantal and Cathryn breakdown bulletproofing. They discuss the importance of challenging clients on their statements and evidence before they face opposition. Other topics include:

Access to information requests.
Misrepresentation vs. Innocent Mistakes
Residency fraud in citizenship applications.
Managing client expectations.

Guest Star: Lisa Middlemiss, an immigration lawyer at Gomberg and Dalfen in Montreal who specializes in matters relating to residency and a member of the Executive of the Citizenship and Immigration Section of the Canadian Bar Association.

Explicit content rating due to coarse language.

S1E4 - 2021 at the Federal Court: A Year in Review Mar 15, 2022

Show notes

On this week's episode of Welcome Home, join our hosts as they sit down with Steven Meurrens, partner at Larlee and Rosenberg and host of the Borderlines podcast, for a fascinating review of the top Federal Court cases from 2021 and their implications on your day-to-day immigration practice.

We begin with two cases that impact practitioners representing clients facing allegations of misrepresentation and criminal inadmissibility.

·Singh v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021, FC 959 on flagpoling and misrepresentation by omission at ports of entry into Canada

·Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Mason, 2021 FCA 156 on expanding the scope of S.34 of the IRPA

As Canada’s immigration backlog approaches 2 million applicants, Chantal, Cathryn, and Steven, review some new federal court cases dealing with mandamus applications during COVID-19.

·Almuhtadi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 712

·Aguirre v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2021 FC 678

How do you talk about legal fees with your clients? In this episode’s segment of “What I Wish I Knew,” Chantal and Cathryn discuss their best practices for law firm billing. They discuss the importance of being confident in your worthwhile maintaining trust in lawyer-client relationships.

Special Guest: Steven Meurrens is a senior partner of the Larlee and Rosenberg Immigration Law Firm in Vancouver and host of the Borderlines podcast.

Explicit content rating due to coarse language.

S1E3 - Immigration in the COVID Era: Cross-Border Travel, Application Backlogs, and Airlines. Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

Chantal and Cathryn welcome Stephen Green, Senior Partner at Green and Spiegel in Toronto, to discuss the fluid circumstances of Canadian immigration arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, they examine the legal, social, and professional implications of constantly shifting COVID provisions on day-to-day immigration practice. Our guest and hosts shed light on the difficulties of advising clients about immigration applications and cross-border travel. They discuss the pandemic’s role as a catalyst for the technological transformation of Canada’s immigration processing system and the million applicants in the IRCC backlog.

We then dive into a discussion of the decision-making tree behind every foreign national’s entry into Canada. From airlines that implement information to Public Health that monitors vaccine requirements after arrival, will this decision-making process persist in the post-COVID era, or should it be streamlined?

Other topics include: · Application processing times. · The risks of flag-poling at ports of entry · Business visitors vs. temporary workers · After sales service provisions · The power of airlines in the decision-making process

In this episode’s segment of “What I Wish I Knew,” Chantal and Cathryn unpack their shared belief “Hire once and hire well.” They discuss the importance of staff fitting into the company culture and keeping morale up in the remote work environment when many employers are experiencing high rates of turnover.

Special Guest: Stephen Green is a senior partner of the Green and Spiegel Law Firm in Toronto and author of Temporary Entry into the Canadian Labour Market.

Explicit content rating due to coarse language.

S1E2 - Inadmissibility Law: Jaskirat Sidhu - “Does one act define you for a lifetime?” Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

Join Chantal, Cathryn, and immigration lawyer, Raj Sharma as they navigate the complex and consequential maze of Canada’s inadmissibility laws, keeping in mind the question, “Does one act define you for a lifetime?”

In this episode, they examine the unique personal and professional challenges of representing clients trying to overcome a finding of inadmissibility. When the stakes are so high, how do practitioners handle the emotional repercussions of working on these cases? Chantal, Cathryn and Raj discuss their experiences practicing in this complex area, offering advice on emotional investment and advocacy for their fellow immigration practitioners. We then dive into a roundtable discussion on criminal inadmissibility law and the Jaskirat Sidhu case. As a permanent resident convicted of a serious crime, Jaskirat Sidhu is subject to deportation to India after he serves his eight-year sentence for the Humboldt Bus Crash. Instead, Sidhu hopes to stay in Canada and has pleaded his case to the Canadian Border Services Agency. What evidence should be put forward when asking for this type of exemption? Cathryn, Chantal, and Raj breakdown the current status of this case and discuss the following factors:

Double Jeopardy
Section 44 of the IRPA
Media Coverage and Discretion
Duties of Sidhu’s employers

In this episode’s segment of “What I Wish I Knew,” Chantal and Cathryn discuss the importance of building relationships and getting to the stage in your legal career when bringing in the business becomes your responsibility. Other topics include:

The intersection between immigration law, criminal law, and foreign law.
Polarization of criminal inadmissibility cases.
The value of providing and receiving mentorship.
The importance of referrals.

Special Guest: Raj Sharma is a founding partner of the Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm in Calgary and author of Inadmissibility and Remedies.

Explicit content rating due to coarse language.

S1E1 - A roundtable discussion on family class sponsorship: the definition of a Canadian family, effective sponsorship applications, and social media's role in authenticating relationships. Nov 23, 2021

Show notes

Chantal and Cathryn welcome immigration lawyer, Adrienne Smith as they discuss the evolution of family class sponsorship in Canadian immigration law.

What constitutes a family under Canada’s immigration law? Learn about the current barriers to family reunification and how they impact the rights of minorities, such as the LGBTQ2+ community. They examine recent developments from the Federal Court and the growing role of technology in immigration decision-making. Our guest sheds light on her best practices for asking your clients the tough questions to verify authenticity of relationships and the importance of moving beyond the checklist requirements during the immigration process.

On this episode's segment of “What I Wish I Knew,” Chantal discusses the importance of self-confidence and taking advantages of opportunities while Cathryn discloses her secrets to effective leadership and making tough decisions.

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