#Clawbies2015 – My Three Nominations
This year, thanks to the emergence of Canadian Immigration Law (hashtag: #cdnimm) as a major policy and election issue, I made my accidental entry into the blogging world. I know the path was paved by amazing bloggers before me, that deserve their credit for being fantastic resources – for their clients and for the interest […]
The Resignation Letter – An Online Novel (Chapter 1: Writer’s Block)
Chapter 1 Writer’s Block “Dear Boss….” Mohamed stared blankly at his laptop screen hoping that the letter would somehow write itself. No that doesn’t sound right… too informal, Mohamed thought to himself. He quickly corrected the line. It now read: “Dear Mr. Smith” One would think that after a decade as a marketing […]
Unpacking the Legal Phrase “Fettering Discretion”
The phrase “fettering discretion” found its way into two important decisions released today. In Trinity Western University v. The Law Society of British Columbia 2015 BCSC 2326 (“TWU-LSBC“), The Hon. Chief Justice Hinkson found that the Law Society of British Columbia Benchers incorrectly fettered their discretion by binding themselves to a ‘fixed blanket policy set by LSBC […]
Seven Things You Should Know Canadian Parent and Grandparent Class Family Sponsorship Program in 2016 and Five Policy Changes I Would Implement
Introduction On November 23, 2015, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced the details of 2016’s offering of the much-anticipated Parents and Grandparent Family Sponsorship Program. The full details of the program can be accessed here. For the past several years, this program often fills up by the second week of January. In fact, many applicants submit […]
Six Reflections From My First Six Months of Practice
It is officially six months since I was called to the bar. These six months have gone by quite fast. From both a practice and personal perspective they have been eventful, thrilling, devastating, and all feelings in between. Perhaps the best way to ‘reflect’ (or over-reflect, as I am prone to doing) on my last six […]
Restoration Problems – Studies to Begin at a Later Date
I wanted to share a recent response to an inquiry I was provided CIC and why I think it creates unreasonableness – call it reasonableness in the unreasonableness. Here is the scenario. For whatever reason, your client’s Application for a Post-Graduate Work Permit is refused or never submitted. The client’s study permit has also expired. The 90-day […]
Recent Experiences with PGWP Problems (Updated – 15 September 2016)
One thing I have noticed recently in my practice is the number of individuals who are having challenges with Post-Graduate Work Permits, more specifically the period of time between which they complete their final academic session and the time in which they receive their post-graduate work permit (PGWP). The period in which an international student […]
