Immigration
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January 02, 2025
Key deadlines, tax compliance for executors and trustees
I have previously written about executors’ tax compliance responsibilities. In the past two-plus years since that article, there have been a number of changes of which executors and trustees should be aware. This article provides an overview of key tax compliance responsibilities of executors and trustees and highlights some of these recent changes.
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December 24, 2024
What to expect from Canada immigration in 2025 | Colin R. Singer
Canada’s immigration landscape in 2025 is undergoing significant changes, driven by a need to address pressing domestic challenges such as housing affordability, strained public services and public sentiment shifts. The adjustments include a substantial reduction in immigration targets, program-specific modifications and a focus on balancing economic needs with integration capacities. Below is a detailed analysis of these anticipated changes and their implications.
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December 24, 2024
Ottawa to end extra points for job offers in ‘spring 2025;’ border ‘flagpoling’ now mostly barred
Ottawa says that from “spring 2025,” foreign nationals seeking permanent residence through the Express Entry program will no longer receive additional points for having a job offer; also work and study permits were no longer given to most “flagpolers” at Canadian ports of entry, as of Dec. 23 at 11:59 pm (ET).
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December 20, 2024
Trudeau unveils new cabinet with strong legal background as NDP threatens confidence vote
With his faltering government facing a non-confidence motion as early as Jan. 27, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has introduced eight new cabinet ministers whose tenure may last only weeks.
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December 18, 2024
Ottawa proposes legislation, oversight body to crack down on forced labour in supply chains
The federal government plans to introduce legislation to compel companies and government agencies to monitor their supply chains to avoid suppliers that use forced labour or commit other violations of fundamental labour rights.
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December 18, 2024
Feds release $1.3B border plan to combat ‘migration and opioid crises’
The federal government has released Canada’s Border Plan and announced a $1.3 billion investment into increasing security at the border and strengthening the immigration system. Measures include disrupting fentanyl trade, using new tools for law enforcement and minimizing unnecessary border volume.
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December 17, 2024
New sanctions target Venezuela’s top judge and justice officials complicit in ‘fraudulent’ election
Venezuela's top judge, a prosecutor and two other judges are among five Venezuelan justice officials targeted by Canadian sanctions for what Ottawa says was their undermining of democracy and participating in “the fraudulent declaration of Nicolás Maduro as the winner” of Venezuela’s presidential election last July.
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December 17, 2024
Vavilov at five | Sara Blake
Five years ago, on Dec. 19, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada, in Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, re-set the standard of review for questions of statutory interpretation. In that case, and two others decided in the same week, the court demonstrated how the new standard of review is to be applied.
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December 17, 2024
Parastoo Ahmadi’s groundbreaking concert: Symbol of defiance and hope | Maria Mahmoudian
In a momentous event that defied the oppressive norms of the Iranian regime, Parastoo Ahmadi recently held a concert without wearing a hijab. This courageous act of defiance took place at an undisclosed, clandestine location in Tehran, with tight security and limited attendance to ensure the safety of the performer and her audience. The concert, held this month, has since become a landmark in the struggle for women's rights and freedom of expression in Iran.
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December 16, 2024
Federal fiscal update after Freeland’s shock departure features tax, legal changes of note to bar
Boosting the number of judges in Ontario’s Unified Family Court and Court of Appeal, making “bail and sentencing laws stricter,” and new civil remedies — and criminal penalties of up to $1 million for corporations — under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, were among the new measures proposed in the 2024 fall fiscal update by the minority Liberal government after Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland stunned Ottawa by resigning from the Cabinet a few hours earlier.