Borderlines

Sam Cooper is an award-winning investigative journalist and best-selling author. The is the founder of The Bureau. His book, Wilful Blindness - How a Criminal network of narcos, tycoons and Chinese Communist Party agents infiltrated the West, debuted as a #1-seller on Amazon, in Canada. We discuss the United Front, foreign interference in Canada, Canadian enforcement issues, IRCC casting a wide security screening net that seems to encompass all Chinese with STEM backgrounds, Parliamentarians allegedly involved in collusion with foreign governments, international students voting in nomination ridings, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, 3/PLA and whether things are improving. Published cases involving inadmissibility to Canada due to membership in either the United Front or the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office include Meng v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), Zhang v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) and Gao v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration). Li v. Canada (C

Arshdeep Kahlon is an immigration lawyer in Brampton. He was counsel in Singh v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2024 FC 1369, where the Court had to determine whether it is misrepresentation for an applicant in a visa application to not disclose that they were previously not granted entry to the United States while flagpoling.Topics include what flagpoling is, when one should flagpole vs. applying for a visa online, misrepresentation, how judicial reviews work and advocacy strategies and tips. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Raj Sharma is an immigration lawyer in Calgary. We discuss spousal sponsorship applications and appeals, showing that a relationship is genuine, arranged marriage, the primary purpose of a marriage, interview preparation, how Immigration Appeal Division appeals work, interpretation issues, in person hearings vs. remote, res judicata and inconsistencies in a relationship history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Hayes is an American immigration lawyer who practices out of Vancouver, British Columbia. He previously appeared on episodes #32 - Keep Out the Poor - How Canada and the US Address Immigrants on Welfare, with Andrew Hayes, #37 - The Closure of the Canada - US Border and the Supreme Court's DACA Decision, and #41 - Judges Virtue Signalling Inside and Outside of Court. We discuss various types of US visa refusals, including administrative processing and ESTA cancellations, and the uncertainty in Canadian immigration law of whether these constitute refusals that need to be disclosed in applications. Also covered are denials of entry to the United States, with a particular focus on what actually happens at US Customs and Border Patrol when someone flagpoles. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deanna and Steven discuss what we consider to be some top Federal Court immigration decisions to this point in 2024.Cases include Toor v. Canada, 2024 FC 1146 (restoration), Chung v. Canada, 2024 FC 1218 (misrepresentation when a degree is obtained through plagerism), Abdool v. Canada, 2024 FC 1172 (misrepresentation and involuntary cancellations of US entry attempts), and Alohan v. Canada, 2024 FC 1122 (reconsideration requests). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Siavash Shekarian is an immigration lawyer in Toronto, and the Executive Member & Public Affairs Liaison of the Ontario Bar Association. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deanna and Steven discuss Canada's caregiver programs, including the Live-in Caregiver Program (1992 to 2014), the Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots (2014 to 2019), the Interim Pathway for Caregivers (March 4 to July 8, 2019), the Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots (starting June 18, 2019 - present), and the new proposed program. Topics include whether Canada needs caregiver programs, open work permits, permanent residence right away, caregivers leaving the occupation after getting permanent residence, processing delays and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Eoin Logan is a lawyer at Meridian Law Group. Fifty percent of his practice is suing immigration consultants and lawyers for professional negligence. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A discussion of the Open Work Permit for Vulnerable Workers program, a program which provides ppen work permit for vulnerable foreign workers who are victims of abuse. We also discuss access to justice issues. Jonathan Braun and Amanda Aziz are lawyers who work at the Migrant Workers Centre, an organization in Vancouver that promotes and advances access to justice for migrant workers by providing legal services, advocacy, research, public education and engaging in law and policy reform initiatives.Juliana Dalley is a lawyer at the Immigration and Refugee Legal Clinic, the only legal clinic in British Columbia specializing in immigration and refugee maters. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Part 1 of 2 in a historical deep dive of Chinese immigration to Canada. This episode covers the period of 1850 - 1885, and includes an overview of events in China at the time (including the Opium Wars and the Taiping Rebellion), Chinese migration during the British Columbia gold rush, the merger of the Colony of Vancouver Island and the Colony of British Columbia, numerous British Columbian laws designed to make reduce the number of Chinese in the Province, the building of the Trans Canada Railway, the Royal Commission on Chinese Migration to Canada and the Chinese Head Tax. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zeynab Ziaie Moayyed is an immigration lawyer in Toronto. She can be found on X at @ZeynabZiaieWe discuss Chinook, AI triage and IRCC's Integrity Trend Analysis Tool. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Petra Molnar is a lawyer and anthropologist specializing in migration and human rights. We discuss her recent book, The Walls Have Eyes Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.Topics include the use of technology at borders, surveillance, the role of the private sector, the border industrial complex, Palantir and other companies, whether countries may withdraw from refugee conventions, ankle monitoring, UNHCR camps, the Belarus-Poland border, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mikal Skuterud is a Professor at the University of Waterloo. We discuss the impact of immigration on housing prices, foreign workers, lumping Francophone migration objectives under economic immigration, international graduates facing barriers to immigrating and more. Mikal's previous appearance on Borderlines can be downloaded here. The former immigration minister interviews that Mikal mentions include Chris Alexander, John McCallum and Sergio Marchi. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada's Federal Court is conducting a review of its rules. We discuss some of the proposals, which include letting consultants do judicial review, an upcomming pilot project to simplify judicial reviews, whether filing fees should be increased, ways to reduce the number of judicial reviews, and more. Cheryl Robinson is an immigration lawyer in Ontario. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frances Mahon is a criminal defense lawyer in Vancouver at Pender Litigation. Connie Campbell is an immigration lawyer at Edelmann & Co. We discuss the law of prostitution / sex worker in Canada in the criminal context, restrictions on foreign nationals finding employment in industries such as massage parlours and strip clubs and whether foreign nationals can set up Only Fans accounts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lev Abramovich is a Canadian immigration lawyer in Toronto. We discuss ongoing security screening delays at IRCC, particularly for Chinese and Iranian nationals, mandamus applications, the expanded definition of espionage in Canadian immigration law, and how recently legislation to combat foreign interference in Canada may further hinder access to justice. Previous episodes discussing this growing issue include Episode #85 and Episode #96. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. He previously appeared on Episode #108. We discuss locally engaged staff, reconsideration requests, recording visa office interviews, IRCC office politics, visa officers as police officers vs. social workers, rude lawyers and whether people should join the civil service. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a historical deep dive on Order in Council PC 1911-1324, an Order in Council from 1911 which stated that for a period of one year black people would not be permitted to immigrate in Canada because the Canadian government deemed them unsuitable to Canada's climate. I am re-uploading the episode to fix some audio issues and also to add more context on areas that people had questions about. The episode explores Order in Council PC 1911-1324, scientific racism, homesteading, Wilfred Laurier's term as Prime Minister, the 1911 Canadian election, the situation in Oklahoma that caused black people to migrate to Canada and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.