Award-Winning Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law and Commentary Blog
“It’s Not What They Call You, It’s What You Answer To” – ascribed to comedian W.C. Fields (but I received this teaching through an April Ryan talk, March 2019, Harlem)
The Story of My Many Name Changes
I have been through a few name changes in my life.
“Our lives have no meaning, no depth without the white gaze. And I have spent my entire writing life trying to make sure that the white gaze was not the dominant one in any of my books.”
– the late, honoured, Toni Morrison
Last week I attended a week long retreat/workshop from Inner Activist called “Conscious Use of Power.”
In this piece I am going to talk about strategic voting or at least my own strategic vote this election. I also will touch on issues of anti-immigration sentiment/misunderstanding
A common situation in Canadian immigration law is when you make an application or a request for something such a reconsideration and you get back a decision with reasons you believe are inadequate.
Their eyes. Seen through a lot of things – more vividly when closed.
This piece has been simmering and marinating in the back of my mind for awhile now. Meeting a mentor last week who had at a crucial juncture shared with me his story of loss and this time shared his current work
In today’s bit of a fun exercise for people who like to dork out on these things, let’s take a look at the six-month on work permits and study permits – what the Regulations (IRPR) say, what the IRCC website says, and try and make sense of all of this fun stuff.
I revised this post on 6 August 2019. Thanks to fellow colleague Tess Acton for pointing out R. 209 (the work permit parallel to R.222). I’ve worked with this provision before. It goes to show that (a) don’t rush a blog before the long weekend; and (2) read and reread and fall on your sword.
I am grateful to have been invited to a dialogue on the “realities of racism and hate in your community” with Parliamentary Secretary Ravi Kahlon in just less than an hour. Interesting enough on the invitation email wording of community.
Dual intent is an important and increasing oft-used provision of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) particularly for those applicants who straddle the pathway between temporary and permanent residence. I previously wrote about this concept more than four years ago
R v. Singh 2019 ABPC 37 is an Alberta Provincial Court decision involving an international student Mr. Surinder Singh who appeared at the port of entry in Calgary with a study permit approval letter to pursue a Masters of Chemical Engineering program at the University of Waterloo
Today, via Part II of the Canada Gazette, the Government released the final regulatory amendments for an open work permit regime for vulnerable temporary foreign workers experiencing abuse as defined by R. 196.2 of the Regulations.
First – to Frame
I have been trying to write this piece for over seven years. I had this constant struggle with whether this story should remain a family secret/dinner table fable or whether there was a greater utility in sharing it publicly.
Last Friday, I had the privilege of mentoring two brilliant students.
Both students were racialized law students. Both reminded me of myself. They were very humble, aware, fearful – altogether, so very human. I have seen my share of young law students or lawyers with fresh-pressed suits carrying an air of premature confidence.
This past weekend, I went to Calgary to join over 100 fellow Chinese-Canadians to attend the inaugural “Action! Chinese Canadians Together (ACCT) Leadership Conference.
It was a weekend of deep healing and reflections on identity
I did training today with a group of Chinese-Canadian leaders for a workshop on storytelling.
There are some really good things – which I don’t want to spoil for those eventually attend the workshop, but I will share the story that I came up with.
Much of Canadian Immigration Law and Regulation around international students in Canada is given life through program delivery instructions that set out the relevant policies. I have explored in recent blogs how posted policies can conflict with the operation of the law under IRPR and IRPA
I’m one day behind. No excuses. Weekend ball drop. Paul George not playing up on Dame.
Decolonize
I want to decolonize.
I am trapped in colonial work.
It is like I forgot the colour of my own skin.
What is the content of my character?
Reality…. is
Aryans…. are
Concerned…. that
Immigrants….. may
My name is Will Tao and I am a Barrister and Solicitor practicing exclusively in the field of Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law. I work for a full-service Canadian immigration and refugee law firm called Heron Law Offices based in Burnaby, B.C.
he/his/him
Acknowledges that he lives and works on the traditional, unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples – sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations.
This site reflects my personal opinions and views only and should not be relied on and should be verified prior to any professional use. Please note that none of the information on this website should be construed as being legal advice. As well, you should not rely on any of the information contained in this website when determining whether and how to apply to a given program. Canadian immigration law is constantly changing, and the information above may be outdated. If you have a question about the contents of this blog, or any question about Canadian immigration law, please contact the Author.
