Shezan Muhammedi is an Acting Assistant Director at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and an Adjunct Research Professor at the University of Carleton. He is the author of Gifts from Amin - Ugandan Asian Refugees in Canada.

In 1972, Ugandan dictator Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of nearly 80,000 Asians, predominantly of Indian descent, giving them just 90 days to leave the country. Many of these individuals, whose families had lived in Uganda for generations, were stripped of their assets and forced to flee. Canada, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, was one of the countries that responded by welcoming approximately 7,000 Ugandan Asians.

Meera Thakrar is a Partner at Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers & Solicitors. Her father was one of the Asian Ugandans expelled by Idi Amin.

Shezan is continuing to collect the oral histories of Ugandan Asian expellees as part of a study. If you would like to share your story with him please contact [email protected] 

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Richard Mosley is a retired judge from the Federal Court of Canada, with a background and specialization there in national security cases.

We discuss the path to becoming a judge specializing in national security, the unique physical environment of working on such cases, and the security provisions within Canadian immigration law. Other topics include delays in processing, abuse of authority, CSIS, mandamus applications, the art of decision writing, and the importance of diversity on the bench. 

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This episode originally aired on December 13, 2016. We are reposting it as it provides an overview of the history of Canadian national security law, and next week we will be airing an episode with a recently retired judge who was designated to handle national security matters.

This episode contains an overview of the history of national security law in Canada, starting with the MacDonald Commission and the October Crisis of 1970, the formation of the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service, the Air India bombing, the Arar Inquiry, 9/11, and Bill C-51.We also discuss the roles of CSIS, the Communication Security Establishment, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Canada Border Services Agency, in administering Canadian national security legislation.Finally, Professor Roach provides an in depth analysis of several controversial elements of the previous Conservative Government of Canada's Bill C-51, and the current Liberal Government of Canada's response under Prime Minister Trudeau.Kent Roach is a Professor of Law and the Prichard-Wilson Chair of Law and Public Policy at the University of Toronto. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and is considered to be one of the foremost experts on national security legislation in Canada.

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Deanna and Steven discuss the most baffling rules and programs in Canada's immigration system.

We also answer multiple requests to comment on the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association recent statement that immigration consultants should be restricted to working for lawyers.

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On this episode, Steven and deanna discuss the recommendations section of the recent report from the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration regarding "closed work permits and temporary foreign workers" (full report here). Our discussion also touches on the recently announced "Gender-based violence guiding principles and commitments" released by the Canada Border Services Agency.

The conversation focuses on the tension between these broad government directives -- which respond (in part) to negative comments made by the United Nations Human Rights Council in their rather damning report on Canada's temporary foreign worker program, and actual immigration policy as it is evolving in recent months. This brings us back to a general conversation about Canada's plans to reduce permanent resident quotas in the upcoming year, and to deal with the numbers of temporary foreign workers and students who will find themselves unable to extend their status when their current permits expire.

Also referenced in the recording: this article from the CBC.

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Andrew Mattu is the Principal Lawyer at Godwit Law Office, an immigration law firm, in Brampton ON.

Ajaypal Singh Ahluwalia is an Associate at Godwit Law Office.

We discuss restoration of status and Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs). Topics include how people fall out of status, eligibility for restoration of status, restoring to post-graduate work permits, removal during the restoration period, restoration of status and permanent resident applications, TRPs, when to recommend a TRP vs. leaving the country, processing delays and the 2025-2027 immigration levels plan.

We then shift gears and discuss the experience of recent immigrants, including Ajaypal, in finding employment in Canada, and whether Canada is meeting the expectations of recent arrivals.

Cases discussed are:

*Udobong v. Canada (MCI), 2018 FC 234 (CanLII)

-and -

* Toure v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2014 FC 1086 (CanLII)

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Douglas Cannon is a Partner at Elgin Cannon & Associates.

A significant part of Doug's practice involves helping refugees and protected persons navigate and defend against "cessation" applications. Cessation applications can strip refugees of their refugee status, as well as Canadian permanent resident status, if it’s found that they no longer need protection, based on specific grounds, including: (1) Choosing to return and seek protection in their home country, (2) Regaining their original nationality voluntarily, (3) Gaining a new nationality that offers them protection, (4) Reestablishing themselves in the country they once fled, or (5) No longer facing the threats that led them to seek asylum in Canada in the first place.

Our guest sheds light on these complex processes, breaking down the legal challenges and sharing insights on how individuals facing these risks can protect their status in Canada.

For a more detailed perspective from Doug, we highly recommend his article in the Canadian Association for Refugee Lawyer (CARL) Review, Vol. 1, No. 1 (https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2023CanLIIDocs405), starting at page 43. To read the legislative amendments referenced by Doug in this episode, see here: https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/41-2/bill/C-60/first-reading. 

On the closing conversation about claiming CPD points, we are currently looking into the new LSBC requirements and will post on LinkedIn once we have a definitive answer.

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Alice Craft is a Research Associate in the Immigration knowledge area at the Conference Board of Canada. She recently published a paper titled Small Business, Big Impact Immigrant Hiring and Integration in Five Canadian Cities.

We discuss the key findings of that study -- namely, that:

• In fast-growing small and mid-sized Canadian cities, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in multiple sectors identified skill shortages as their most common employment challenge.
• SMEs are using practical and inclusive strategies to evaluate newcomers’ education and experience, but they rarely intentionally reach out to newcomers or work with immigrant‑serving agencies during recruitment and onboarding.
• SMEs prioritize English/French language skills, particularly spoken communication, when hiring immigrants. Language skills are particularly important in client-facing roles or those involving safety regulations.
• Negative experiences and limited understanding of immigration processes discourage SMEs from engaging with the immigration system.
• Affordable housing and access to public transit and child care compound labour market challenges for both job-seeking immigrants and SMEs looking to hire and retain talent.

We also discuss her recommendations.

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This episode orginally aired on October 28, 2016.

A discussion of the role of immigration on the Vancouver housing market.

Tom Davidoff is an Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business. He is frequently cited in the Vancouver media as being an expert on Vancouver's housing market, and was part of a team of nine academics who created the B.C. Housing Affordability Fund proposal. He can be found on Twitter @TomDavidoff

David Eby is the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Point Grey, and was previously the Executive Director of the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association. He is a passionate advocate for making Vancouver a more affordable place to live. He can be found on Twitter @Dave_Eby

The questions that we discussed in the podcast are:

What has been going on in the Vancouver housing market?

How fast have prices been rising? Is there evidence that foreign investment / foreign funds has been the cause of the increase in Vancouver housing prices?

What data is there regarding the amount of foreign home ownership in Vancouver?

What is the property transfer tax, and what are the new rules on how it applies to foreign buyers?

Is there evidence that high housing prices impacts the rental market? Does it matter if the landlord is a Canadian or a foreigner?

Why should high housing prices matter? Why should people think that they should be able to live in a market that they cannot afford?

Should we move beyond the paradigm of valuing single detached homes? What role do international students play in the increase in housing prices?

Does the fear of being accused of racism prevent government from addressing the issue of high prices?

Is real estate such an integral part of the British Columbia economy such that high prices are now "too big to fail?"

Should we move beyond the paradigm of valuing home ownership?

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