Episode 27 – Civil Forfeiture in Canada, with Bibhas Vaze

Steven Meurrens

Civil forfeiture is a process in which the government seizes assets from persons suspected of involvement with crime without necessarily charging the owners with wrongdoing. Did you know that in British Columbia the government can seize and forfeit your car if you speed? Or that police can “seize first ask later” for property that is less than $75,000? This was a fascinating look at an area of law that receives little scrutiny, especially in how it can relate to immigration.

Bibhas Vaze is a criminal defence lawyer in Vancouver.

 

4:45 – An overview of New Can and how it relates to civil forfeiture.

5:30 – What is civil forfeiture?

13:15 – Who has the onus of proving there is a tracing of property to unlawful activity?

16:50 – Can the government seize property that is partially the proceed of crime or that was used to commit unlawful activity?

17:10 – What is unlawful activity in the civil forfeiture context?

19:20 – What is the size of British Columbia’s Civil Forfeiture Office? How much property has it seized since its inception?

20:30 – Do all civil forfeiture cases have to go to trial?

25:10 – When is the property actually seized?

29:00 – What level of connection between the unlawful activity and the property is necessary in order for property to be seized?

32:20 – What is constitutional creep, and how does it play into civil forfeiture?

37:50 – If someone is ordered by a criminal court to pay a fine or restitution, can they they be subject to civil forfeiture, essentially paying the fine twice?

46:00 – How far back can the government go? Is there a limitation period from when the unlawful activity was committed to when the property can be seized?

1:01 – An overview of the recent United States Supreme Court decision to strike down many aspects of their civil forfeiture regime. Could it happen in Canada?

Episode 34 – Canada and the Compact for Migration, with François Crépeau

Steven Meurrens

François Crépeau is a Professor at the McGill Faculty of Law and the Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism. He was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants from 2011 to 2017.

Peter Edelmann and François discuss migration issues generally, the Compact for Migration, and its implication for Canadian immigration and refugee law.

This episode was recorded before Peter Edelmann was appointed to the British Columbia Supreme Court.

4:15 – What does a UN special rapporteur on migration do?
8:00 – What impacts could climate change have on the future of global migration patterns?
10:37 – How does Canadian refugee law address the issue of climate refugees?
21:00 – What led up to the Compact on Global Migration and what preceded it? How has migration historically been monitored / governed on a global scale?
28:00 – What is the international definition of a refugee?
31:3– What percentage of migrants would qualify as refugees?
33:30 – What is the Global Compact on Migration?

Episode 33 – Where Canada’s Political Parties Stand on Immigration

Steven Meurrens

An overview of the immigration platforms, and general historic policies, of Canada’s political parties.

1:45 – Where do the parties stand with regards to letting provinces decide who immigrates?

13:28 – Immigration levels

23:30 – What are the promises with regards to border security and the Safe Third Country Agreement?

36:00 – Temporary Foreign Workers

42:00 – Application fees

46:00 – Settlement services and values tests

48:00 – Where parties can work together on and general trends.

Episode 32 – Keep Out the Poor – How Canada and the US Address Immigrants on Welfare, with Andrew Hayes

Steven Meurrens

A comparison of how the immigration systems of Canada and the United States each deal with the issue of immigrants and social assistance.

How similar is the “public charge” rule in the United States and “financial inadmissibility” in Canada? What is a sponsorship bar? Can permanent residents be deported for imposing a fiscal burden on the state?

Andrew Hayes is a US immigration lawyer who practices in Vancouver.

00:30 – How does US immigration law and policy development work?

1:45 – What is the public charge rule?

2:30 – What is an affidavit of support?

4:00 – Does the United States have a points based economic immigration system?

5:40 – What are the concerns about Donald Trump’s changes from a substantial impact?

8:00 – What is the Low Income Requirement in Canada? Is there a similar requirement in the United States?

11:00 – There are often situations where the sponsor of a family member may be poor, but the breadwinner of the family is the prospective immigrant. How does Canadian and American immigration law account for this?

13:00 – Are affidavits of support usually enforced? What about sponsorship undertakings?

23:00 – How does financial inadmissibility work in Canada?

25:30 – What is the consequence of being determined to be financially inadmissible?

27:00 – Can a permanent resident of Canada be financially inadmissible to Canada? What about to the United States?

38:20 – Can someone be medically inadmissible to the United States?

43:30 – How are the courts likely to react to Trump’s changes to the public charge rule?

57:20 – Can refugees be financially inadmissible?

59:00 – Does having US citizen children impact financial inadmissibility? What about in Canada?