Dear CILA Members,
We hope you are enjoying a wonderful summer with family and friends.
We thank you for your support and engagement with us. We are pleased to be continuing our momentum through these summer months and are excited about finishing the year strong once everyone is back to work in September. We have more important information to share with you later this year on our work to advance the right to counsel on Canadian immigration matters. In the meantime, we wish to share the following update on our upcoming initiatives and recent work:
Join our free event in Calgary on September 24
CILA is heading back to western Canada next month and invite you to join us in downtown Calgary for a free networking event on September 24. This event is open to both CILA members and non-members, so we encourage you to share this with immigration lawyers in your networks who may wish to attend. We already have a strong level of interest for this event and look forward to having a full house for an evening of networking and thought leadership. The event will feature a panel discussion on how to make Canadian immigration policies more supportive of economic development in Western Canada and we are in the process of securing industry leaders to share their insights. Stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, make sure to register here for free.
CILA thanks ABM Accounting for its generous sponsorship of this event. Since 2006, ABM has been providing bookkeeping and accounting services to hundreds of clients across Canada. ABM is a closely knit family office who find satisfaction in providing quality services to clientele, both big and small.
Sign up to our free event in Toronto on October 24
CILA will also be hosting a free networking event in downtown Toronto on October 24. This event is open to CILA members and non-members, so you are welcome to invite other immigration lawyers to attend. Please register here.
CILA is very grateful to our Toronto event sponsors:
Participate in our upcoming CLEs
We have a series of exciting CLEs coming up which we invite you to sign up to. They are:
- Master Canadian Immigration ATIP Requests: Virtual Workshop Sponsored by Visto: On September 5, join Andrew Koltun and Moderator Lou Janssen Dangzalan for a “how to” workshop on submitting ATIP requests to the Canadian government. CILA thanks Visto.ai for sponsoring this CLE.
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Ask Me Anything… About Practicing Canadian Immigration Law with Chris Veeman: On September 26, join Chris Veeman for a free “Ask Me Anything” session on all matters relating to Canadian immigration. This event is offered to up to 25 junior lawyers.
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Business Immigration: Popular Immigration and Work Permit Streams, Sponsored by VisaBusinessPlans.ca: On October 31, join Siavash Shekarian and Moderator Catherine Sas, KC to learn more about Canada’s most popular business immigration and work permit streams. We thank Visa Business Plans Canada for sponsoring this CLE.
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Ask Me Anything… About Practicing Canadian Immigration Law with Deanna Okun-Nachoff: On November 28, you are welcome to join Deanna Okun-Nachoff for a free and interactive session for up to 25 junior lawyers to ask Deanna their questions.
Volunteer with CILA: Join our New Committees
In recent months, CILA has launched new committees including on AI, Family Reunification, Bill C-71 (Citizenship Act), Business Immigration, and Fraud Prevention.
We are currently seeking more members to volunteer for the following:
- Advancing the Rights of Immigration Lawyers Committee
- Article Committee
- Citizenship Committee (Focus on Bill C-71)
- Fraud Prevention Committee
- Quebec Committee
Please click here to express your interest in volunteering in any of the above areas.
Complete our Canadian Business Immigration Committee Survey!
CILA is thrilled to announce the start of our Business Immigration Committee (CBIC).
Our ambition is transformative—we aim to shift the discourse on business immigration, address the critical issues it faces, and advocate for policies that work. You will be hearing from us soon and regularly as we work together to achieve these goals.
One of our key objectives is to design and execute CLE programs that will enhance your practice in business immigration law. To ensure our CLE program meets your needs, we invite you to participate in a brief survey (approximately 5 minutes). Your input will help us create a CLE program that is relevant, engaging, and beneficial to your professional growth.
Click here to complete the survey
Thought-leadership and stakeholder relations
CILA has engaged with IRCC, ESDC, and the CBSA over the past month.
We recently met with IRCC to discuss reforms to the International Student Program. IRCC says they continue to consider a variety of options for reform including to the Post-Graduation Work Permit and are hoping to announce further details in the coming months. In addition, CILA attended an IRCC consultation session on the Immigration Levels Plan 2025-2027. ESDC also invited CILA to attend a session featuring Minister Randy Boissonnault for a discussion on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
The common thread between the three meetings is the federal government’s strong desire to reduce temporary resident levels. CILA will continue to call on IRCC and ESDC to pursue measured policies that can enable Canada to welcome global talent to benefit our economy, while at the same time continuing to ensure the integrity of our immigration system is upheld.
If you have any comments or feedback on any policy issues you wish for CILA to raise with the government, please email: research@cila.co
Finally, as is common during U.S. election cycles, CILA has seen an uptick in media requests from Canadian outlets on the implications of U.S. politics on immigration to Canada. In July, we featured in interviews by CTV and iHeart Radio on this topic.
Benefit from the CILA Online Library
This is a friendly reminder to remember to enjoy the benefits of CILA’s Online Library, which is exclusively available to CILA members. The Online Library features a lot of information to help you with your practice including a list of Program Managers around the world, IRCC and ESDC documents, and much more.
Enjoy the summer!
CILA thanks you once again for all your support and wishes you an enjoyable rest of your summer! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any comments or questions you may have!
