Borderlines

In this audio-only reunion episode, former Borderlines Podcast host Peter Edelman joins to discuss life on the British Columbia Court of Appeal.

Topics discussed include how decisions get made and written, the role of counsel in shaping outcomes, pressures facing Canada’s judicial review system, judicial collegiality and dissenting reasons, immigration backlogs, adversarial justice, and the emotional weight of judging.

2:16 – Learning curve: trial court vs appellate court

6:31 – Does good lawyering really matter in judicial review?

19:28 – Precision in judgments & unintended interpretations

23:40 – Dissents, concurrences & shaping the law

27:17 – Should judges clarify controversial rulings later?

33:06 – Rethinking adversarial justice

49:06 – Is it easier to judge or be judged?

55:07 – Does being a judge change personal decision-making?

https://youtu.be/nJ8kM4zJLdU?si=5L4nmGJz5eaKbXAm

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Canada is increasingly turning to immigration to address a growing healthcare shortage, but is the system actually built to absorb more doctors?

Steven Meurrens and Deanna Okun-Nachoff are joined by Dr. Brian Day (orthopedic surgeon and past president of the Canadian Medical Association) to unpack how policy decisions created today’s physician and nursing shortages, why hospitals ration care under fixed budgets, and what that means for internationally trained doctors trying to build careers in Canada.

Topics discussed include the decline of family medicine, ER overcrowding, delayed diagnosis and higher long-term costs, Canadians seeking faster care abroad, credential recognition, new pathways for physicians, medical inadmissibility and more.

Follow Dr. Brian Day on X/Twitter: @drbrianday

Timestamps

02:53 — 1990s cuts

10:29 — “Rationing” healthcare

22:21 — Canadians going abroad for treatment

28:10 — Immigration meets healthcare

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The first Borderlines episode of 2026 is our annual recap + predictions roundtable with Ottawa immigration lawyer Tamara Mosher-Kuczer. We look back at what actually happened in 2025, what surprised us most, and what 2026 might bring.

Timestamps / Chapters

0:52 Looking back: how many predictions were right last year?

14:40 2026 predictions

39:46 Listener question: What will happen with caregivers?

42:28 Listener prediction: Turning asylum into a temporary pathway

46:11 Listener question: Trades vs. Francophones

52:12 Listner question: LMIA exemptions / significant benefit work permits—any expansion?

57:56 Will Canada's population increase or decrease in 2026?

Subscribe for weekly immigration law breakdowns and policy updates, and tell us: What’s your boldest 2026 immigration prediction?

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Amandeep Hayer and Lisa Middlemiss, co-authors of the book Canadian Citizenship: What Practitioners Need to Know, discuss citizenship by descent now that Bill C-3 is in force.

Topics discussed include what changed under Bill C-3, citizienship by descent, how far citizenship can be traced back, proving citizenship without provincial birth certificates, interim measures vs. proof of citizenship applications, processing times, urgent requests, Canadians without proof who can’t get work permits or SINs, why adoptees may still be treated differently, fraud concerns, and how many Americans may now be Canadian citizens.

We also answer live listener questions and comments, including whether Canada will now have to many new Canadians, a possible TR → PR pathway, work permit options for foreign doctors, slow processing times, Bill C-12 and Canadian immigration law predictions for 2026.

Amandeep's blog post on Bill C-3 can be found here - https://hayerlawoffice.ca/2025/11/03/no-bill-c-3-does-not-create-a-new-second-generation/

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We return to Afghanistan, and to the unfinished work Canada left behind.

Following our recent conversation with retired Canadian Forces member Cory Moore, we are joined by three guests from Aman Lara, a Canadian registered charity working on refugee extraction, resettlement and protection.

Jon Feltham, Executive Director of Aman Lara and retired Canadian Armed Forces member

Julia Aitken, Program & Communications Director at Aman Lara

Denis Thompson, Major-General (Ret’d), former commander of NATO Task Force Kandahar

We examine Canada’s response to Afghans who worked alongside Canadian and NATO forces, through the lens of recent Federal Court decisions that highlight how many individuals were left behind after the fall of Kabul in 2021.

We discuss:

The reality faced by Afghan interpreters, contractors, and families still in hiding

How Canada’s approach relied on “process without a plan”

The bureaucratic gaps between DND, Global Affairs, and IRCC

How veterans became de facto evacuation coordinators during the 2021 crisis

How Ukraine’s uncapped emergency program contrasted so sharply with Afghanistan

What Aman Lara has accomplished (over 7,000 evacuations and 5,800 resettlements) and why the work is far from over

🔗 Aman Lara is a registered Canadian charity.

If you’re looking for a meaningful way to support refugee protection and resettlement efforts, we’ve included a donation link here - https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/130744

🎧 Subscribe for in-depth conversations on Canadian immigration law, policy, and the human consequences behind the headlines.

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Steven and Deanna break down the rapidly shifting landscape of Canadian study permits amid IRCC’s newly released 2026 international student caps. With approval rates falling sharply in 2024–2025 and IRCC committing to fixed national intake numbers, study permits are now effectively being graded on a curve, making strong applications more critical than ever.

We discuss the most common refusal grounds they see in practice, including:

▸ Weak or incoherent study plans

Why study plans are now a top refusal ground, what officers look for, how jurisprudence has evolved, and what applicants must show to demonstrate a logical academic and career trajectory—even for minors.

▸ Dual intent, PGWP confusion, and long-term plans

How to candidly discuss the possibility of a PGWP without triggering a refusal, and how applicants can articulate return-home benefits while acknowledging genuine motivations.

▸ Financial sufficiency and unexplained deposits

Why bank statements are scrutinized more heavily than ever, how to document source-of-funds properly, and why even technical checklist omissions can sink an otherwise strong application.

▸ Family ties and home-country incentives

How IRCC evaluates “significant family ties” in and outside Canada, and why applicants should proactively explain their home-country obligations to address concerns about leaving Canada at the end of their stay.

▸ Underdocumented travel history and other overlooked factors

Simple omissions that lead to refusals—such as failing to include exit/entry stamps, prior visas, or proof of assets.

Whether you are an international student, an immigration professional, or someone following Canadian immigration reform, this episode offers practical guidance on how to build a more compelling study permit application in a challenging and tightening system.

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Civil litigator Eoin Logan joins to break down three cases involving lawsuits both by and against immigration representatives.

The cases are Sibbal v Nathyal, 2025 ABCJ 198, Roshy Skincare Clinic Inc. v Vrossis Investment Group Inc., 2025 BCSC 1769 and ICGC Immigration Consultants Group Canada Inc. v. Metro Painting Ltd., 2025 BCCRT 1466.

Topics discussed include entering into immigration fraud schemes and suing when it falls apart, contractual illegality, negligent and fraudulent misrepresentation, contractual illegality, punitive damages and the duty of honesty in professional services, what happens when someone can’t enter Canada to attend their own civil trial and whether professional regulation in Canada actually protects immigrants.

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Steven and Deanna dive deep into the most common reasons IRCC refuses Express Entry applications, with a focus on what visa officers determine to be insufficient reference letters.

1:00 – Correction from last episode: OINP Skilled Trades “draw” was actually a mass cancellation. Thoughts on this and Bill C-12.

10:00 – Express Entry refusals. NOC lead statements + main duties, employers not listing job duties, duties don’t match the NOC, blended NOCs.

17:00 – Should employers include percentage breakdown of duties?

26:00 – Why verbs like “assist,” “support,” “help,” or “maintain” are dangerous

27:12 – Procedural fairness: when IRCC must NOT contact you

Live Questions.

31:10 – Will CEC draws exceed 1,000 ITAs in 2025?

32:49 – Will Bill C-12 cancel Start-Up Visa and non-priority org files?

36:50 – Is IRCC looking for any reason to refuse?

37:45 – Will I get refused if my reference letter only lists 40 hours per week?

38:34 – Could Bill C-12 cancel existing PRs?

39:26 – Could TR-PR cover SUV applicants in 2026–27?

40:05 – Why are immigrants treated like clients of a company?

41:00 – Is foreign experience locked at ITA or EAPR?

42:10 – My CRS is 449 with French. Will I get an ITA in 2025?

42:56 – What if my employer refuses to list job duties?

43:15 – Will there be more education category draws?

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Canada’s new 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan is here, and it’s a lot more confusing than media headlines suggest.

This episode unpacks how the Carney government has quietly layered “one-time initiatives” on top of the official levels plan, including a massive cohort of protected persons and in-Canada temporary residents transitioning to permanent residence, and why the oft-repeated topline of 380,000 PRs is misleading once you add those extra streams.

Topics discussed also include shrinking the temporary resident share of the population, the quiet rollback of francophone immigration targets, cuts to IRCC’s budget, and the rule-of-law issues when the same legal criteria suddenly produce totally different outcomes and higher refusal rates.

We also answer live listener questions on CEC, work experience across multiple NOCs, why there aren't many ITAs, the H-1B pathway, and more.

5:05 – The “math’s not mathing”: topline 380,000 vs extra 140,000 PRs

19:00 – Temporary resident caps, extensions, and the missing data

27:26 – Francophone targets quietly reduced & what that signals

33:06 – Massive rebound of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in 2026

36:06 – H&C: 1,100 admissions and a 50-year backlog

37:35 – Budget cuts, IRCC HR reductions & shift to automation

43:04 – Potential new categories: researchers, senior managers, allied military

44:49 – Listener Q&A: is there hope for CEC? TR→PR vs CEC draws

48:02 – Are CEC ITAs being stalled to protect processing time stats?

49:16 – CEC work experience across multiple NOCs & “primary NOC” confusion

51:00 – Can wrong NOC coding sink an otherwise solid CEC application?

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