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Citizenship and Immigration

APPEAL WATCH: Pepa v Canada, bound by obiter

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted leave to appeal Pepa v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FCA 102 (“Pepa FCA”), a pithy (16 paragraph) dismissal of a certified question for appeal from the Federal Court of Canada (“FC”) under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 (“IRPA”). The appeal material raises […]

Ewen: The judge-represented litigant

The Federal Court of Appeal (the “FCA”) resolved an “unusual question” about the Federal Court’s jurisdiction to raise a substantive question not raised by the parties in the context of an urgent motion for judicial review. In Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v Ewen, 2023 FCA 225 [Ewen], the FCA considered the unprompted decision […]

"Saved by the Valve:" Analysis and Takeaways from Canadian Council for Refugees v Canada

To view a summary of the decision in Canadian Council for Refugees v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 SCC 17 ("CCR"), see the first installment of this post here. In this follow-up article, I discuss my main takeaways from the Court's decision in CCR. As I agree with Kasirer J.'s well reasoned decision, I focus my […]

"Saved by the Valve:" Refugees and Concerns with the Safe Third Country Agreement

In Canadian Council for Refugees v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 SCC 17 [CCR], the Supreme Court of Canada (the “Court” or “SCC”) unanimously confirmed the designation of the United States (“U.S.”) as a "safe third country" and appropriate partner with which Canada can share responsibility for considering refugee claims. The Court also took time […]

​​Reasonably Robust Reasonableness: Mason v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)

At issue in Mason v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 SCC 21 [Mason] was whether “acts of violence” in s. 34(1)(e) of the Immigration Refugee and Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [IRPA] requires a nexus to national security, or relates only to violence broadly, in order to find a permanent resident or foreign national […]

To Deport or Not to Deport, A Question of Reasonableness: SCC Grants Leave to Appeal to Mason v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

On March 3, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) granted leave to appeal to Earl Mason, et al v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al, SCC Case No 39855. This case is significant for being one of the first substantive appellate discussions of judicial review post-Vavilov (Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v […]

SCC to Revisit the Safe Third Country Agreement in Canadian Council For Refugees, et al. v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al.

The Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) will revisit the applications of several unsuccessful refugee claimants when it hears Canadian Council for Refugees, et al. v Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, et al, SCC 39749. In doing so, they could make a powerful statement about Canada’s perception of the United States (“U.S.”) as a safe country […]

Mixed Sexual Orientations Are No Obstacle to Forming a Conjugal Relationship: AP v Canada

In a spousal immigration decision at the Federal Court last month, the legal definition of a conjugal relationship was expanded to include couples who have different sexual orientations — in this case, a gay man and straight woman. In AP v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 906 [AP v Canada], Justice Janet M. Fuhrer […]

Feher v Canada: Strike Three Against the “Safe Country” List in Canada's Refugee Law

Until late March 2019, when Justice Keith Boswell struck down s.112(2)(b.1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [IRPA], refugee claimants from certain “designated” countries were required to wait for two years longer compared to all other refugee claimants for a risk assessment of their removal from Canada. Two weeks ago in Feher v […]