In this episode, our hosts are joined (again) by Connie Campbell (she/her) of Edelmann and Co. — to discuss s.35(1)(b) of the IRPA – which renders inadmissible any person who is “a prescribed senior official in the service of a government that, in the opinion of the Minister, engages or has engaged in terrorism, systematic or gross human rights violations, or genocide, a war crime or a crime against humanity within the meaning of subsections 6(3) to (5) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act“. While it may sound straight-forward enough, and not particularly controversial, our discussion covers how over-breadth in application renders inadmissible those with no actual substantive connection to Human or International Rights violations. Our conversation takes this to consideration of whether this is consistent with the approach taken by the Supreme Court of Canada in Mason v. Canada 2023 SCC 21 in respect of section 34 (the security provisions) of the IRPA.

Deanna and Steve discuss an internal IRCC document listing numerous challenges that employers are having with IRCC, including processing delays, security screening, the BC PNP, high points in Express Entry, and more.

Daniel Hiebert is an Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of British Columbia.

We discuss his recent paper for the CD Howe Institute titled “Balancing Canada’s Population Growth and Ageing Through Immigration Policy.”

Those who support high immigration levels often say that Canada’s ageing demographics makes immigration a necessity. This conversation is a deep dive into this issue.

One thing is apparent. There are no easy solutions.

It is going to take massive increases and changes to immigration levels and policy that likely are not sustainable or politically feasible.

Mark Holthe is an immigration lawyer in Lethbridge and the President of the Canadian Immigration Institute.