Lawyers pan citizenship reforms Reporter: Cristin Schmitz Immigration and refugee lawyers have condemned many of the government’s proposed citizenship reforms as anti-immigration, convoluted and likely to spur litigation and constitutional attacks. The Strengthening…
Continue ReadingMarch 8, 2014 is International Women’s Day, an event celebrated in countries around the world. The day is to show appreciation for the women in our lives: mothers, daughters, sisters, partners, friends, neighbours, leaders, and inspirational figures. On March 8th we will be celebrating the lives and achievements of more than half of the world’s population! To read more about the history of the day see the official website.
So what are you doing for the women in your life this weekend?
Continue ReadingCanada excelled this year at the XXII Winter Olympic Games held February 7 – 23, 2014. Today it’s time to cheer on our Paralympic athletes who will compete in Sochi, Russia this week from March 7 – 16, 2014! Each Olympic year, both the Paralympic and Olympic Games are held two weeks apart in the same host country and use the same sporting venues and organizing committee.
Continue ReadingOn February 11, 2014 the Government announced its changes to the Federal Budget. Among these changes were new limits that will be placed on the TFWP (Temporary Foreign Worker Program). The government…
Continue ReadingOn 6 February 2014 the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-24, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts. The Act proposes to fundamentally transform the meaning, scope and processing of Canadian citizenship. The important details, found within a complex set of proposed amendments necessitates a detailed cost-benefit analysis of the legal consequences of allowing mass changes to everything from eligibility to appeal in a larger-than-life overhaul of the legal landscape surrounding citizenship as we now know it in Canada.
Continue ReadingCitizenship and Immigration Canada has just announced new regulations for international students that will come into effect on June 1, 2014. Canada is a study destination of choice for many international students, and Canadian educational institutions benefit greatly…
Continue ReadingPosted by: Mario D. Bellissimo Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced yesterday the government’s intent to eliminate the Federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP) and Federal Entrepreneur (EN) Program as well…
Continue ReadingDear Applicants: The hearing at the Federal Court of Appeal will be scheduled for the week of June 23rd. Our legal arguments are due to the Federal Court of Appeal on February…
Continue ReadingMario D. Bellissimo is featured in the February 2014 issue of the Canadian Bar Association CBABC magazine BarTalk, along with Canadian Senator Raynell Adnreychuk. Mario Bellissimo is acting Chair of the National Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association.
Continue ReadingMario Bellissimo was recently interviewed in an article appearing in the Toronto Law Journal entitled Compromising Change; a Canadian Immigration Retrospective. The objective of the article was to discuss the impact of recent changes to Canadian immigration policy and to get a sense of the direction Canadian immigration is heading.
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