February 2014

Last month the Ottawa Citizen published two articles on convenience store ownership in Ottawa. They describe how convenience stores are losing profit and closing down, because grocery stores are now often open every day for 24 hours.

Unfortunately, since immigrants own many of Ottawa’s convenience stores, they are the primary victims. One of the articles talks about an immigrant couple who have to work long hours at their convenience store, every day from 7am to 10pm. Another convenience store owner explains how he does not have enough time to take English classes due to the long working hours.

January 2014

I recently learned an awesome new phrase, “Bread and Circuses.” According to Wikipedia, it comes from Latin and stands for “a superficial means of appeasement”. Wikipedia says that when it comes to politics, the phrase is used to describe the creation of public approval, not through exemplary or excellent public service or public policy, but through diversion; distraction; or the mere satisfaction of the immediate, shallow requirements of a populace.

December 2013

The Canadian government has announced three major changes that will affect those interested in immigrating to Canada in 2014.

October 2013

Last month, I represented a client accused of marriage fraud. More specifically, he was accused of “directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts.” The letter he received from Citizenship and Immigration Canada alleged that his“…marriage to [his] sponsor… is not genuine and was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring entry into Canada as a permanent resident.”