Spring Update: Stay informed, stay connected!

Dear Section Members,

The Section is bustling with activity and there are so many great ways to get involved.

2020-2021 Award Winners Announced!

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2020/2021 CBA Immigration Law Section awards.

Congratulations to the following award winners:

• Award of Excellence: Betsy Kane
• Founders’ Award: Silvia Macedo
• Volunteer Recognition Award: Sarah Fagan, Robert Blanshay and the Anti-Racism Committee (Arghavan Gerami, Gabriela Ramo, Kamaljit Lehal, Claudia Molina, Felicita Ovadje and Will Tao)

Visit the Section webpage for more information on each award and this year’s recipients.

2021 CBA Immigration Law Online Symposium

We hope you can join us virtually at our upcoming Online Symposium (May 28, June 4, June 11 and June 17). The theme of this 4-day online program is: You’re on Mute: Changes & Challenges of Immigration in the New Normal.

Enhance your skills and earn CPD hours while hearing from leading experts at the forefront of immigration practice and policymaking, as well as government speakers and ministers. Participants will also enjoy a social event from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm ET on June 4^th – stay tuned for more details.

Register for individual sessions or purchase the full program for the best rates.

Government Meetings

Your Section Officers have been holding productive virtual meetings with the Offices of Minister Blair, Minister Mendocino and MP Raquel Dancho, as well as IRCC, ESDC and CBSA. The minutes have been circulated via the listserv.

Recent Submissions:

• Potential Amendments to Transfer the Authority to Issue Removal Orders for Select Inadmissibilities to the Minister’s Delegate (September 22, 2020)
• Potential regulatory amendments related to transborder criminal inadmissibility (December 4, 2020)
• COVID-19 and Delayed Returns of Application Packages by IRCC Processing Offices (December 21, 2020)
• COVID-19 and CBSA Resumption of Removals from Canada (December 21, 2020)

We would like to thank all the working groups who participated in these submissions for their contributions.

Social Media

The Section has also been very active on the social media front. The following Facebook Live Streams have happened since the beginning of this CBA fiscal year:

• COVID-19 border restrictions and holiday season travel with guest speaker Tamara Mosher-Kuczer (Capelle Kane) – December 18, 2020
• Tips and tricks for navigating Express Entry with guest speaker Mark Holthe (Holthe Immigration Law) – February 26, 2021
• International adoptions with guest speaker Cathryn Sawicki (Serotte Law Canada) – March 26, 2021

Get Involved

The success of the Section comes from the dedication of our volunteers and Section members; we invite you to engage with the Section:

• Join a working group and contribute to our submissions. When you help with submissions, you help shape policy.
• Join us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and our new Instagram page. Like, share, comment and suggest posts.
• Subscribe to and participate in the CBA Immigration Law Section national listserv. It is an excellent resource and networking tool, and it improves even more with your contributions. You can sign up and edit your receiving email by visiting the listserv enrolment page.
• Submit an article for open access publication.
• Access CBA member resources, including videos on the importance of using an immigration practitioner, and our asylum seekers toolkit that provides relevant information on assisting asylum seekers from the U.S.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with questions or if you would like to become more involved.

Sincerely,

Mark Holthe
Chair, CBA Immigration Law Section