Our Team in the Media
Erin Simpson – ‘I’m hoping they hear my voice’: 14-year-old Afghan boy renews plea for help from Canada
A 14-year-old boy from Afghanistan is renewing his desperate plea made to the Canadian government last year as his family awaits further instruction regarding their immigration application. Last August, as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the boy, who CTV News Toronto is not identifying ...
Jacqueline Swaisland – Repatriating Afghan Refugees in the Midst of Catastrophe
The 9/11 attacks in the United States in September 2001 thrust Afghanistan to the forefront of what was declared to be the ‘war against terrorism’. The country was already languishing for more than two decades of conflict arising from the Soviet-Afghan War that forced millions of Afghans to seek refuge in ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Sarina Faizy was overjoyed when Canada evacuated her family from Afghanistan. Now she fears her father may be deported.
Sarina Faizy breathed a massive sigh of relief when her family was evacuated from Afghanistan almost six months ago after urging the Canadian government to help. But now she's confused and afraid because her father, who has been housed in a Toronto hotel since August, ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Afghan athletes who thought they were headed for Canada plead with Ottawa: ‘Don’t break our hearts’
A star of Afghanistan's national women's basketball team thought she would be in Canada by now, building a new life with her family after they were forced to flee their old one. Instead, they're stuck living in a northern Albania hotel, mired in uncertainty. Dozens of ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Owner of Kabul law firm that worked for Canadian Embassy pleads for help for employees left behind
Saeeq Shajjan's law firm in Kabul spent the past eight years working as the local legal team for the Canadian Embassy in Afghanistan. But with about two dozen of his employees still stuck in the Taliban-held country, Shajjan said the Canadian government is now ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Memo to the new cabinet: Canada must meet the moment in Afghanistan
Imagine that you are a female judge in Afghanistan at this very moment: having gone from being in the epicenter of justice just a few months ago to a basement hideaway trying not to breathe too loudly. You are now hunted by the Taliban, by ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen & Rachel Bryce – Climate migration is already happening – Canada must lead in developing a coherent response
Representatives from much of the world gathered in Glasgow to discuss how to respond to the existential impacts of climate change. COP26 brought with it a heightened sense of urgency and the destructive effects of climate change can no longer be ignored, even for the ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – « J’ai pu fuir, mais je recommence tout à zéro » : une juge afghane en exil se confie
Tayeba Parsa fait partie des rares femmes juges à avoir réussi à quitter Kaboul après l’arrivée des talibans. Elle vit depuis en Europe de l’Est, ignorant ce que l’avenir lui réserve. Dans un témoignage exclusif, elle replonge dans les souvenirs de son périple mouvementé et ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Is it time for Canada to open its doors to climate migrants?
As huge swathes of the world become uninhabitable due to rising heat, a group of refugee lawyers say Canada could become an important oasis. In February 2021, Ana Hernandez stood on the south bank of the Rio Grande River cradling her two-year-old son as they ...
Erin Simpson – “I defied the Taliban, and now my family is in grave danger”
On the morning they left, my elderly parents, older brother, sister-in-law, nephews and niece all watched as their neighbours packed up cars filled with clothes, food and water. Women frantically urged their children into waiting cars, their faces veiled and bodies engulfed by sky-blue burkas...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Lawyers speaking for the ignored during the pandemic
While the many negative impacts of the pandemic are obvious, including lives and livelihoods lost, others are not as visible. In this issue, we spoke with a few lawyers who are working to change that...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – The path to Canadian immigration has gotten a bit bumpy with COVID-19
For at least some would-be immigrants to Canada, there was a bit of good news announced in mid-February. The federal government said that it sent invitations to 27,300 candidates to apply for permanent resident status under the Canadian Experience Class category, giving them 90 days ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Why Canada needs to think about accepting climate change refugees
As countries around the world wrestle with the growing impacts of global warming — including fires, droughts and rising sea levels — there's one that critics say Canada is failing to properly consider: climate change refugees...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – 2021 Lexpert Leading Lawyer to Watch in the area of immigration
The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory profiles leading practitioners across Canada in over 60 practice areas and leading law firms in over 40 practice areas as identified via an extensive, annual peer survey...
Landings LLP – U of T Law alumnae launch firm devoted to refugee, immigration and human rights law
Warda Shazadi Meighen (JD 2009) says the decision to pursue her area of practice was personal: she and her family arrived in Canada as refugees...
Jacqueline Swaisland – Family facing deportation from Canada say return to Portugal puts ‘our lives at risk’
A family in Milton, Ont., is racing against the clock to be able to stay in Canada, saying that being deported to Portugal will put their health in jeopardy...
Recent Developments
Recent Decisions
Adair v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 342 In Adair v. Canada (MCI) Justice Rochester examined the Officer’s decision to refuse the Applicants’ sponsorship application due to the Principal Applicant (PA) not meeting the definition of a member of the family class. The PA originally arrived ...
Recent Decisions
Tofa v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 135 In Tofa v. Canada (MCI) Justice Mosley examined the Refugee Appeal Division’s (RAD) decision to refuse the Applicants’ asylum appeal, upholding the RPD’s decision that there were significant discrepancies and inconsistencies in the Applicants’ testimony and evidence. The ...
Recent Decisions
Gopalakrishnan v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 277 In Gopalakrishnan v. Canada (MCI) Justice Ahmed examined the Refugee Appeal Division’s (RAD) decision to dismiss the Applicants’ appeal on the grounds of viable internal flight alternatives (IFA) existing in Bangalore or Mumbai. The Applicants had sought asylum ...
Recent Decisions
Figarola Ahumada v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 246 In Figarola Ahumada v. Canada (MCI) Justice Brown examined the Refugee Appeal Division’s (RAD) decision to refuse the Applicants’ appeal due to credibility findings. The Applicants had initially sought asylum in Canada on the basis of feared ...
Recent Decisions
Palagot v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 214 In Palagot v. Canada (MCI) Justice Petney examined the Refugee Protection Division’s (RPD) decision to refuse to re-opening the Applicant’s asylum claim. With the aid of a fraudulent consultant, the Applicant had initially sough asylum, but due to ...
Recent Decisions
Alajnf v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 151 In Alajnf v. Canada (MCI) Justice Norris examined the Office’s decision to refuse the Applicants’ Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) application due to lack of evidence of personalized hardship in Libya. On judicial review, Justice Norris found that the ...
Recent Decisions
Zeng v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 75 In Zeng v. Canada (MCI) Justice Go examined the Applicants’ refused second refugee appeal redetermination decision. The Applicants had originally filed a claim for protection from the Chinese authorities based on the Principal Applicant’s (PA) identity as a ...
Recent Decisions
Tkabo v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 15 In Tkabo v. Canada (MCI), Justice Elliott examined both the Refugee Protection Division’s (RPD) and the Refugee Appeal Division’s (RAD) decisions to refuse the Applicant’s claim based on lack of credibility with respect to the Applicant’s identity. On ...
Recent Decisions
Thind v. Canada (MCI) 2022 FC 1782 In Thind v. Canada (MCI), Justice Rochester examined both the Refugee Protection Division’s (RPD) and the Refugee Appeal Division’s (RAD) decisions to refuse the Applicant’s claim based on the exitance of a viable IFA. The RAD determined that ...
Recent Decisions
K.M. v. Canada (MCI), 2022 FC 1726 In K.M. v. Canada (MCI), Justice Strickland examined the Minister’s decision to refuse the Applicant’s Pre-Removal Risk Application (PRRA) due to lack of forward-looking risk. The Applicant originally made a successful refugee claim and became a permanent resident ...
Recent Decisions
Thind v. Canada (MCI), 2022 FC 1644 In Thind v. Canada (MCI), Justice Ahmed assessed an Immigration Officer’s decision to refuse the Applicant’s Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) application on the grounds of lack of unique circumstances to overcome their inadmissibility. On judicial review, Justice Ahmed ...
Recent Decisions
Brown v. Canada (MCI), 2022 FC 1607 In Brown v. Canada (MCI), Justice Sadrehashemi examined the Applicants’ refugee appeal refusal. At issue was whether the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) breached procedural fairness by drawing negative credibility inference from the Applicants’ inability to provide corroborative evidence. ...
Recent Decisions
Gebru v. Canada (MCI), 2022 FC 1563 In Gebru v. Canada (MCI), the Court examined the Immigration Division’s decision to find the Applicant inadmissible to Canada pursuant to ss.34(1)(f) and 34(1)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for being a member of Tigray People’s ...
Recent Decisions
AB v. Canada (MCI), 2022 FC 1540 In AB v. Canada (MCI) the Court examined the Officer’s decision to refuse the Applicant’s humanitarian and compassionate application on the grounds of "moderate" BIOC impact . On judicial review, the Court found that the Officer did not ...
Recent Decisions
Menjivar v. Canada (MCI), 2022 FC 1490 In Menjivar v. Canada (MCI), the Court explored the IAD’s decision to dismiss the applicant’s appeal on H&C grounds under section s.67(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, on the basis that the applicant had engaged in ...