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#109 – DUIs and Dangerous Driving, with Kyle Lee

Steven Meurrens

Kyla Lee is a criminal defense lawyer at Acumen Law and the host of the Driving Law podcast.

In this episode Kyla answers dozens of questions about common driving offenses, including impaired driving and dangerous driving. Topics include how these offenses work, roadside prohibitions vs. criminal charges, defenses to impaired driving charges, distracted driving and more.

#108 – A Former Visa Officer on The Culture at IRCC, AI, and Obstacles to Change, with Martin Levine

Steven Meurrens

Martin Levine was a Visa Officer and Analyst at Citizenship and Immigration Canada from 1978 – 2009. He then worked as a contract employee as an ATIP Analyst for numerous federal departments.

This episode is like reading the results of an Access to Information Act on how IRCC works, and then asking questions of the person who wrote it. We discuss the culture at IRCC, whether artificial intelligence will improve decision making, whether visa officers should have more discretion, budget cuts and training issues and how the biggest obstacle to meaningful change at IRCC might be the Treasury Board.

#107 – Trauma-Informed Lawyering, Part 2 with Dr. Deborrah Dunne (see also Episode #105)

Steven Meurrens

This is the second instalment (Part 1 is Episode #105 in this mini-series on Trauma-Informed Lawyering. In this segment, Deanna’s own clinical counsellor, Dr. Deborrah Dunne discusses in more depth:

a) vicarious trauma and compassion fatigue;

b) the importance of self-care in running a trauma-informed practice;

b) strategies for identifying trauma (in yourself and your clients);

c) tools on how to “get present,” and ideas for how to help your client get there too

Thank you again, Deborrah for all of your precious time!

#106 – Customs Law, Border Seizures and Loss of NEXUS, with Samuel Hyman

Steven Meurrens

Samuel Hyman is a Vancouver lawyer with one of the more well known practices in Canadian customs law.

We dive into Canadian customs law for individuals, examining the procedures and rights that Canadians have at the border around the seizure of goods, the imposition of administrative monetary penalties and loss of NEXUS. We discuss the consequences of violating customs regulations and how to challenge CBSA decisions.

After, Sam shares his view on why eliminating the distinction between immigration and tax status could unlock significant revenue gains for the government.