In this episode we discuss statelessness, which is when someone does not have citizenship in any country because of the operation of law.
We discuss how people can become stateless, citizenship revocation, the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Budlakoti, how lack of documentation can lead to lack of citizenship, challenging statelessness, and more.
Will Tao is a Canadian immigration and the founder of Heron Law Office.
In January 2024 Justice Crampton, the Chief Justice of the Federal Court released a decision where he ruled that what constitutes “espionage” in Canadian immigration law must evolve “as hostile state actors increasingly make use of non-traditional methods to obtain sensitive information in Canada or abroad, contrary to Canada’s interests.”
He held that it was reasonable for a visa officer to determine that a prospective Chinese PhD student, Mr. Li, was inadmissible to Canada for espionage because he may in the future be targeted and coerced by the Chinese government into providing information that would be detrimental to or contrary to Canada’s interests. There was nothing to suggest that Mr. Li has a present or future intention to provide such information to the Chinese government. Rather, the concern was future coercion or co-opting.
Later that month, the Government of Canada’s announcement of a New Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (the “Policy”). The Policy included the publishing of a list of around 100 research organizations and institutions in China, Russia and Iran that pose “the highest risk to Canada’s national security due to their direct, or indirect connections with military, national defence, and state security entities.”
In this episode we discuss these two developments, and what it means for prospective immigrants, with a focus on China.
Douglas Judson is a lawyer in Ontario who practices in litigation. He can be found on Twitter @dwjudson
In this episode, we are taking a break from immigration and discussing defamation law, which is the law around communications about a person that tends to hurt their reputation. We are focusing on one of the defenses to defamation lawsuits, which is Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation, or SLAPP. Many provinces, including British Columbia and Ontario (and if you have watched the Jon Oliver episodes, many jurisdictions in the United States) have anti-SLAPP laws designed to encourage public discourse about matters in the public interest.
Pantea Jafari is lead counsel at Jafari Law, which she opened in 2012.
In this episode, we discuss IRCC’s response to the crisis in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Details of the program that is the subject of our discussion can be found on IRCC’s website at canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/israel-west-bank-gaza-2023/canada-tr-measures.html.
Our discussion focuses on the temporary measures in place for Palestinians who live in Gaza, and are seeking to reunite with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident relative who lives in or intends to live in Canada. In addition, we discuss the open work permits for Israelis, comparisons between Gaza and Ukraine, consequences of Canada abiding by a possible ICJ ruling that Israel committed genocide, anti-semitism and more.