#105 – “How-to” primer on Trauma-Informed Advocacy, with Dr. Sharalyn Jordan and Dr. Deborrah Dunne

In this episode, we speak with Dr. Sharalyn Jordan (Associate Professor in Counselling Psychology and Equity Studies in Education at Simon Fraser University, and chair of the Rainbow Refugee society in Vancouver BC), and Dr. Deborrah Dunne, clinical counsellor.

Our guests take us through a “Trauma 101” style overview of PTSD, C-PTSD and the neurobiology of trauma. We also start in on a discussion of “tips and techniques” for trauma-informed lawyering. Regrettably, we had to lose Dr. Dunne toward the end of the episode (because our discussion went on for too long). Happily, we have undertaken to produce a “part 2” episode with Dr. Dunne’s further thoughts on how to work with traumatized clients. Central to that conversation will be a discussion of how advocates should address their own trauma (including vicarious trauma) to set the stage for “optimal engagement” with their clients. Look out for that episode in the days to come! And please subscribe to our channel and send any comments/questions/suggestions for future consideration.



#104 – Privacy Law Issues 101 and Impacts On Canadian Immigration, with Gerald Chan

In this episode, we are joined by Gerald Chan, a privacy and criminal defense lawyer from Stockwood’s LLP. We discuss several significant cases and topics within the realm of privacy law and its intersection with Canadian immigration law.

Gerald’s paper on text message privacy can be found here.

Specific cases include:

R. v. Bykovets, 2024 SCC 6 (whether police need warrant to obtain IP address)

R v. Marakah, 2017 SCC 59 (whether police need warrant to obtain text messages)

R. v. Spencer, 2014 SCC 43 (online anonymity)

We also discuss the intersection between privacy law and immigration law, including when CBSA can search electronic devices, and invasive requests for documents.



#102 – What Being a Visa Officer Was Like, with Corey Clamp

Corey Clamp worked at Citizenship and Immigration Canada from 2003-2008. His roles included working as a Litigation Management Analyst in Ottawa, several supervisory roles at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi and as a Senior Immigration Officer at the Canadian visa office in Ho Chi Minh City.

We discuss Corey’s immigration career, the importance of overseas offices, refusing applications, the importance of individual personalities in the visa processing process and things that Corey believes members of the public or applicants should understand about the role of visa officers.

We also answer a recent question about what our thoughts are regarding Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s 2023 Temporary Public Policy to bulk waive eligibility requirements to clear the temporary resident visa backlog, and the 19,000 refugee claims that resulted by the end of 2023.