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014: Changes at the POEs that are catching people off guard with BJ Caruso

Canadian Immigration Podcast – Show notes

Season 1: Episode 14

Interview with Barbara Jo Caruso.

Barbara Jo Caruso is a founding partner of Corporate Immigration Law Firm, located in the heart of the Financial District in Toronto, Ontario.

BJ is a co-author of the Annotated Immigration & Refugee Protection Act, published by Carswell ("The Annotated IRPA").  The Annotated IRPA is a leading immigration textbook in Canada, and is used by Federal Court Judges, Canadian immigration officials at all levels including Canada Border Services Agency Officers, Immigration Officers, Appeal Board Members, Refugee Board members, lawyers and law students alike.

I can attest to the fact the Annotated IRPA was definitely used by government officers. My first copy was given to me by the hearings officers in Calgary when I was working as a Pro Bono Student (Slave) while attending law school.

BJ is Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Immigration Law. She is one of the most respected business immigration lawyers in the country and a tireless advocate for her clients and our profession. She is currently serving as Treasurer on the Executive Committee of the Canadian Bar Association’s National Immigration Section and a mentor to many young aspiring immigration lawyers across the country…..me included. 

We could easily spend the whole podcast episode discussing BJs numerous professional accomplishments; however, knowing BJ, she probably just wants me to stop with the introductions and get to the real reason she has come on the Canadian Immigration Podcast – 

and that is to discuss some recent changes that have occurred at our Canadian ports of entry that are catching many foreign nationals off guard. 

  1. BJ, can you take a minute to explain these recent changes at Canadian ports of entry and how they are impacting people seeking entry to Canada? 

Topics discuss:

  • How things work at the POEs
  • New access to Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) by PIL Officers
  • 1800 cases flagged in the first month of operations where travellers were identified as having outstanding warrants against them.
  • Can impact any FN who has ever been arrested, charged or convicted of a crime inside and outside Canada.
  • CPIC information is not updated – onus on FN to satisfy officer they are not inadmissible
  • Failure to disclose prior criminality could lead to finding of misrep and 5 year bar
  • How to overcome inadmissibility – TRPs, Rehab & “deemed rehab” 

Additional Questions:

  1. So what happens if I am an individual with a DUI who is travelling to Canada for business and I really don’t have time to prepare a TRP or Rehab application?
    1. What can I expect to happen if I decide to travel anyways and test my luck?
  2. Let’s say I’m a Global Mobility Manager who needs to send a highly specialized employee to Canada on short notice, but fortunately the employee tells me prior to travel that she had a prior criminal conviction. What should they do?
  1. Given what we now know about the increased powers of inspection granted to CBSA officers at the front lines, If there was one piece of advice you could give an individual who needs to travel to Canada, but may be criminally inadmissible, what would it be?