Our Team in the Media
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...
Warda Shazadi Meighen Named a 2020 Lexpert® Rising Star
We are pleased to announce that partner, Warda Shazadi Meighen, has been named as a Leading Lawyer Under 40 by Lexpert® Magazine. This honour celebrates leading lawyers in Canada under the age of 40 who have an outstanding track record of success. Here is what ...
Warda Shazadi Meighen – Oxford University Refugee Studies Centre Alumni
Global migration captured my imagination from a young age and years ago, inspired me to become a lawyer...
Jacqueline Swaisland – Canada releasing immigration detainees at ‘unprecedented’ rates amid COVID-19 fears
The number of immigration detainees held in provincial jails and immigration holding centres across Canada has dropped by more than half since COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic...
Jacqueline Swaisland – Lucene Charles granted stay so Federal Court can review her case
The call Lucene Charles was desperately waiting for came as she stepped out of the Tropicanada Schwarma and Grill and onto the King Street West sidewalk Friday. She was not being deported...
Erin Simpson – Refugee lawyers applaud federal funding after Ford’s legal aid cuts
Refugee lawyers are applauding the federal government's decision to put $26 million toward Ontario refugee and immigration legal aid services after the province cut the program's budget...
Erin Simpson – Precedent Setter Awards 2019
Erin Simpson was awarded the Precedent Setter Award for her work with Amnesty International, the Canadian Council for Refugees and the Canadian Council of Churches, and their challenge of the Safe Third Country Agreement...
Recent Developments
Recent Decisions
Begum v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 1317 In Begum v. Canada (MCI) Justice Elliott reviewed the Applicant’s cessation decision. The Applicant was a Pakistani citizen who was granted refugee protection in 2012 based on her Ahmadi Muslim faith. In 2014 and 2018 the Applicant applied ...
Recent Decisions
Mason v. Canada (MCI) 2023 SCC 21 In Mason v. Canada (MCI), Justice Wagner C.J., Karakatsanis, Côté, Rowe, Martin, Kasirer, Jamal, and O’Bonsawin J.J. explored the statutory interpretation of provisions under s.34(1)(e) of IRPA. Under this provision, permanent residents and foreign nationals are found inadmissible ...
Recent Decisions
Anvar v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 1194 In Anvar v. Canada (MCI), Justice Go examined the Applicant’s cessation decision. The Applicant was found to be a convention refugee in 2005 and resettled in Canada in 2006. In 2022, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) had found ...
Recent Decisions
St. Brice v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 1139 In St. Brice v. Canada (MCI), Justice Régimbald reviewed the Applicant’s Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) decision. The Applicant was a 31-year-old bisexual man, with a cognitive impairment, who feared persecution in St. Lucia due to his sexual ...
Recent Decisions
Ahmad v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 1087 In Ahmad v. Canada (MCI), Justice Southcott examined the Applicant’s cessation decision. The Applicant was granted asylum in 2010 and permanent resident status in 2011. Since then, the Applicant was issued two Pakistani passports and travelled to said ...
Recent Decisions
Sharma v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 1034 In Sharma v. Canada (MCI), Justice Aylen assessed the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision. The Applicant originally sought asylum in Canada based on fear of persecution by a Hindu-nationalist paramilitary organization, the Rashtriya Sangh [RSS] and the ...
Recent Decisions
Li v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 957 In Li v. Canada (MCI) Justice Manson examined the Applicant’s Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) decision. The Applicant had originally entered Canada in 2016, along with his father, and sought asylum based on persecution by the Chinese authorities for ...
Recent Decisions
Brzezinski v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 936 In Brzezinski v. Canada (MCI), Justice Strickland examined the Applicants’ Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) refusal. The Applicants had claimed refugee protection on grounds of feared persecution in Poland due to their Roma identity. The RPD had rejected their ...
Recent Decisions
Obazughanmwen v. Canada (MPSEP) 2023 FCA 151 In Obazughanmwen v. Canada (MPSEP), Justices Gleason, Pelletier, and de Montigny, examined the Appellant’s Federal Court referrals, which the Appellant argued should be set aside and returned for reconsideration for more in depth consideration of the Humanitarian and ...
Recent Decisions
Abbas v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 871 In Abbas v. Canada (MCI) Justice Walker assessed the Applicant’s Refugee Protection Division (RPD) cessation decision. The Applicant was a journalist from Pakistan who had penned critical pieces of President Musharraf’s regime. He fled Pakistan in 2002 and ...
Recent Decisions
Nguyen v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 845 In Nguyen v. Canada (MCI) Justice Southcott examined the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) refusal. The Applicant was a citizen of Vietnam who had claimed asylum in Canada based on persecution due to his support of human rights ...
Recent Decisions
Canadian Council for Refugees v. Canada (MCI) 2023 SCC 17 In Canadian Council for Refugees v. Canada (MCI) Justices Kaiser, Wagner, Karakatsanis, Côté, Rowe, Martin, Jamal and O'Bonsawin JJ examined the constitutionality of legislative provisions implementing the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). The STCA is ...
Recent Decisions
Singh v. Canada (MPSEP) 2023 FC 743 In Singh v. Canada (MPSEP) Justice Gascon reviewed the Applicant’s Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) refusal. On judicial review, Justice Gascon found that due to the incompetence of the Applicant’s former counsel, there was a miscarriage of justice that ...
Recent Decisions
Khan v. Canada (MCI) 2023 FC 727 In Khan v. Canada (MCI), Justice O’Reilly examined the Officer’s decision to refuse the Applicant’s humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) application. The Applicant was a citizen of Afghanistan, who fled the country fearing persecution due to being a member ...
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 ...