Our Team in the Media
Jacqueline Swaisland – Ethiopian spy eligible to apply for refugee status, court rules, despite agency’s targeting of dissidents abroad
A former member of an Ethiopian spy agency that targeted that country’s journalists and dissidents abroad is eligible to apply for refugee status in Canada because his spy activities were “not contrary to Canada’s interests,” the Federal Court of Appeal has ruled. Medhanie Weldemariam, who ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen-Palestinians face red tape, delays in applications to come to Canada, families here say
The federal government is facing mounting criticism over an immigration program that’s meant to reunite Canadians and permanent residents with their relatives who are trapped in Gaza. People trying to bring their loved ones here, and the lawyers representing them, say the program is restrictive, ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen-Canada’s controversial ban on adoptions from several Muslim countries sparks court challenge
A major challenge of Canada's ban on adoptions from several Muslim countries is set to play out in the Federal Court — a move some legal observers say wouldn't be necessary if the government wasn't upholding what they call a "discriminatory" policy. The case, which could be heard as early ...
Jacqueline Swaisland- The Supreme Court just reined in the scope of a Canadian security law. Refugee advocates are praising the ruling
The Supreme Court of Canada has imposed a limit on the power of immigration officials and government tribunals to remove foreign nationals with no criminal convictions on security grounds. In a unanimous judgment released on Wednesday, the country’s highest court says if Canada is going to ...
Jacqueline Swaisland- SCC applies Vavilov standard of review framework; overturns FCA on immigration inadmissibility
Applying the Vavilov standard of review framework, the Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 8-0 that non-citizens can be found inadmissible to Canada and deported under the s. 34(1)(e) “security grounds” provision of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) only if the non-citizen’s alleged violent conduct had a ...
Erin Simpson-SCC rules Safe 3rd Country Agreement with U.S. doesn’t infringe asylum seekers’ Charter s. 7 rights
The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled 8-0 that a regulatory provision designating the United States as a “safe third country” to which most asylum seekers arriving at the Canada-U.S. border can safely be returned to make their refugee claims is not ultra vires nor an infringement ...
Erin Simpson-Human Rights Groups on SCC Ruling of Safe Third Country Agreement
On Parliament Hill, three human rights organizations respond to the Supreme Court of Canada’s ruling on the constitutionality of the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement. The top court has ruled that the agreement recognizing the two countries as safe places for asylum seekers is constitutional.Taking ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Students duped by immigration scams face deportation
The Current with Matt Galloway Hundreds of international students from India have been threatened with deportation after their original offers to study in Canada turned out to be fake. We discuss what might happen next, and what needs to happen to protect students from immigration ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Suspend the US-Canada Safe Third Country Agreement to Restore Orderly Migration
Warda Shazadi Meighen is an immigration partner at Landings LLP and an adjunct professor of refugee law at the University of Toronto. Until 2004, when the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement was signed, asylum seekers could enter Canada in an orderly manner by presenting themselves at an ...
Jonathan Porter- Falling between the cracks of cornerstones: Challenging the detention of asylum seekers on identity grounds
Immigration detention on the grounds of identity is not novel in international law – many states reserve the right to detain foreign nationals where their identity is unknown. Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) permits Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to detain foreign nationals ...
Erin Simpson- They came to Canada, were in child protection, but never got legal immigration status. Now advocates are speaking up
Raised by his great-grandmother in the Dominican Republic, Fili has few memories of his parents or his sister and two brothers, who were both murdered. When his only caregiver died, the young boy, then about 10, moved in with friends he met on the streets ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Asylum seekers face a long journey to freedom along Roxham Road
It seems like an unremarkable site. A temporary building made of corrugated steel. A single white pillar outside, marking the official line between two countries. But for the tens of thousands of asylum seekers who have made the journey to that site over the past ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Calls to shut down the Roxham Road border crossing
The Current with Matt Galloway Thousands of asylum seekers enter Canada through Roxham Road in Quebec each year, but calls to close the unofficial border crossing are growing. Matt Galloway talks to Lovejoyce Amavi, a refugee and author who crossed at Roxham Road in 2017; ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Alleged Chinese police stations indication of wider ‘bullying, intimidation’ tactics, experts say
As allegations of five Chinese police stations located in Canada, including one in Vancouver, B.C., raise concerns of political interference, experts say the role of Chinese intelligence is far more widespread. Earlier this month, a friendship society in Richmond was visited by RCMP officers after ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – COVID-19 front-line worker and her family face deportation to Mexico
The Current with Matt Galloway Claudia Zamorano spent the pandemic working as a housekeeper in a COVID-19 ward in a B.C. hospital — but now she and her family face deportation to Mexico within weeks. She tells Matt Galloway her story; and we hear more ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Afghans who worked on Canadian-funded projects feel abandoned waiting for refuge in Pakistan
A group of Afghans who worked on Canadian-funded projects intended to promote the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan say they are now stuck in neighbouring Pakistan and running out of money for food and rent, more than a year after they thought they would be ...
Recent Developments
Recent Decisions
Henry-Okoisama v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC1160 In Henry-Okoisama v. Canada (MCI) Justice Ahmed reviewed the Applicants’ Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) decision. The Principal Applicant (PA) and her three children were Nigerian citizens. The Applicant came to Canada in 2018, unsuccessfully claiming asylum. Subsequently, the Applicants ...
Recent Decisions
Vadiati v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 1056 In Vadiati v. Canada (MCI) Justice Battista examined the Applicant’s writ of mandamus application. The Applicant was seeking IRCC to issue a decision on his permanent residence application which had been pending for four years. The Applicant had ...
Recent Decisions
Singh v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 1048 In Singh v. Canada (MCI) Justice Fuhrer examined the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision. The Applicant was an Indian citizen who alleged persecution from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and police due to speaking out against them. ...
Recent Decisions
Flayyih v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 1000 In Flayyih v. Canada (MCI) Justice Southcott examined the Applicants’ Convention Refugee Abroad Class and Humanitarian-protected Person Aborad Class decision. The Applicants, which included the Principal Applicant (PA), her brother, and her six-year-old son, were all citizens of ...
Recent Decisions
Shah v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 923 In Shah v. Canada (MCI) Justice Tsimberis examined the Applicant’s Refugee Protection Division (RPD) cessation decision. The Applicant was a Pakistani citizen who successfully claimed asylum in 2019 and secured Canadian permanent residence in 2021. Subsequently, the Applicant ...
Recent Decisions
Teklay v. Canada (MPSEP) 2024 FC 843 In Teklay v. Canada (MPSEP) Justice Turley examined the Applicants’ vacation decision. The Applicants alleged they were citizens of Eritrea who entered Canada on fraudulent Swedish passports in 2012. They successfully claimed asylum based on a well-founded fear ...
Recent Decisions
Temelso v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 808 In Temelso v. Canada (MCI) Justice Southcott examined the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision. The Applicant was citizen from Eritrea who alleged fear of harm or death from the Eritrean government as well as agents of the ...
Recent Decisions
Odunoye v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 771 In Odunoye v. Canada (MCI) Justice Pentney examined the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision. The Applicant was a citizen from Nigeria and former art teacher in charge of a savings cooperative established to benefit school employees. Due ...
Recent Decisions
Algazal v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 753 In Algazal v. Canada (MCI) Justice Sadrehashemi examined the Applicant’s Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) decision. The Applicant was a Libyan citizen who had resided in Canada for about 15 years. He had applied for permanent residence on H&C ...
Recent Decisions
Patel v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 711 In Patel v. Canada (MCI) Justice Régimbald examined the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision. The Applicant was an Indian citizen who resided in Gujarat. In 2017, the Applicant had aided a Muslim friend in securing a job ...
Recent Decisions
Collins v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 665 In Collins v. Canada (MCI) Justice Strickland examined the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision. The Applicant was a citizen of Nigeria who was seeking asylum due to risk of harm from her ex-husband. The Applicant alleged that ...
Recent Decisions
Warsame v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 630 In Warsame v. Canada (MCI) Justice Go examined the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision. The Applicant had disclosed that he was a member of the Sheikhal clan in Somalia before the Refugee Protection Division (RPD). To corroborate ...
Recent Decisions
Canada (MPSEP) v. Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers 2024 FCA 69 In Canada (MPSEP) v. Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers Justices Laskin, Mactavish and Monaghan assessed the Respondent’s inadmissibility determination. The Respondent did not challenge that he was a member of an organization that engaged ...
Recent Decisions
Toscano Rosales v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 553 In Toscano Rosales v. Canada (MCI) Justice Kane examined the Applicant’s Refugee Protection Division (RPD) decision. The Applicant’s father was appointed as sheriff in the Totonicapán region of Guatemala, where he worked with vulnerable youth to curb ...
Recent Decisions
De Oliveira v. Canada (MCI) 2024 FC 495 In De Oliveira v. Canada (MCI) Justice Fuhrer reviewed the Applicant’s Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) decision. The Applicant had originally applied for permanent residence under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class. However, due to the ...
Recent Decisions
Mvana c. Canada (MCI) 2024 CAF 49 In Mvana c. Canada (MCI) Justices de Montigny C.J., Boivin and Roussel JJ.A. assessed the Appellant’s Federal Court decision (2023 FC 329). The Federal Court had dismissed the Appellant’s judicial review of an Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) decision. ...