March 2024

A year ago, the Canadian government created the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET), which allows Ukrainian citizens and their family members to apply for visas to come to Canada and, upon arrival, be issued work or study permits. In July 2023, the Temporary public policy for foreign nationals who applied under the Canada-Ukraine authorization for emergency travel measures and for new temporary resident applicants created an end date for the program, which will be at the end of this month. Those with visas must travel to Canada by March 31, and anyone wishing to extend their study or work permit must submit their application by that date. Thousands of Ukrainians were expected to arrive before the deadline to join the approximate 250,000 already here.

February 2024

On February 27, 2024, I had the pleasure of supervising law students doing advocacy work with Members of Parliament. The event, called LobbyCon, was organized by the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers. This year’s topics included climate migrants and a program to provide permanent status to individuals in Canada who are ‘undocumented.’

January 2024

Currently, the home page of IRCC’s website provides links to information on ‘the situation’ in a number of countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan and Ukraine.

December 2023

Last month, I wrote about how international students in Canada took a bad rap this year.  Pundits were calling for change, suggesting that the number of new students be decreased and their ability to work in Canada curtailed. It appears IRCC heeded their messages.