2021 Canadian Law Blog Awards Winner

Good news for couples - IRCC commits to speedier processing times in spousal sponsorship applications

by Ronalee Carey Law

September 2020

Yesterday, part of our day was spent moving large spousal sponsorship files from the office cabinet to our back room. Due to the slowdown in processing during COVID, spousal sponsorships are so backed up that we don’t have enough room in our cabinets for all our pending files. As an example, our office submitted a sponsorship back in March, and we have yet to hear back about whether the file was even received by IRCC over six months later. The couple has remained separated with no end in sight.

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Applying for a Job in Canada - Some Tips

by Ronalee Carey Law

August 2020

My absolutely wonderful legal administrative assistant is expecting a baby. She will be leaving me mid-October for a maternity/extended parental leave. I have a few weeks to find someone to cover her while she is gone, so that she has time to train her replacement.

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It is a Risky Time to be Applying to be an International Student in Canada

July 2020

International students create big business for Canada, pouring 21.6 billion into the Canadian economy in 2018, and sustaining 170,000 Canadian jobs, according to the Canadian government. And the industry is growing. The number of international students in Canada close to doubled over the last decade, with over 600,000 international students in Canada by 2019. Only the USA and Australia attract more international students than Canada does. Canadian colleges and universities rely on international students, who pay much higher tuition fees than domestic students.

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Family Members of Canadians Can Now Travel to Canada: A Story About Untraditional Advocacy

June 2020

Last month, I chronicled the refusal of entry to Canada of the immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. I am happy to report that immediate family members can now enter Canada, so long as they have no symptoms of COVID-19, have a 14-day quarantine plan in place, and can demonstrate that they intend to stay in Canada for at least 15 days. ‘Immediate family members’ include a spouse or common-law partner, a dependent child, and a parent.

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