SETTLEMENT

How the Federal Court will review visa refusals going forward

On December 19, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada in the case of Minister of Citizenship and Immigration v. Alexander Vavilov created a revised framework for the standard of review in judicial review applications. This case has significant implications for how Canada’s Federal Court will review the decisions of immigration officials. Understanding the concept of standard of review

I published an article about this case in the December 2018 issue of Canadian Immigrant dealing with the concept of the standard of review and how it pertains to courts reviewing administrative tribunal decisions. In the immigration context, administrative tribunals include visa officers, border officials and Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada members. The Federal Court has the jurisdiction to review all decisions of these tribunals, including visa refusals stays of removal and deportation orders.

The concept of the standard of review is perhaps best illustrated by using the analogy of a parent asking her child to pick the clothes that she will wear to school that day. A parent who is showing her child a lot of deference will let her child wear whatever she wants to wear to school, as long as what the child picks is reasonable. If the child tries to wear pants over her head, for example, the parent would say that the child’s choice is unreasonable and prohibit the outfit. A parent showing deference will not interfere, however, simply because the clothes do not match or look bad. Such an approach is known as the reasonableness standard.

In contrast, a parent not showing a lot of deference would stop her child from wearing clothes that don’t match or look bad. The parent would only let the child wear outfits that the parent would wear. This approach is known as the correctness standard. What the Supreme Court of Canada had to say In Vavilov the Supreme Court affirmed that in most cases the reasonableness standard, rather than the correctness standard, will apply to the judicial review of the decisions of immigration officials. The Supreme Court further stated that going forward, the reasonableness standard review would be more robust. Judicial review will not be a “rubberstamping” process or a means of “sheltering administrative decision makers from accountability.” Judges are required to ensure that decisions are “transparent, intelligible and justified.” Vavilov articulates several further principles that will be of interest to people considering challenging a decision.

First, the Supreme Court affirmed that the reasonableness analysis focuses on the reasons, not outcomes. Prior to the decision some had argued that even if a visa officer’s rationale in refusing an application made no sense, a judge should uphold the decision if the judge might also have refused the application. The Supreme Court disagreed and reiterated that an officer’s reasons must make sense.

Second, the Court stated that a refusal will also be unreasonable if it is not possible to understand the officer’s reasoning on a critical point. Reasons that contain circular reasoning, false dilemmas, unfounded generalizations or absurd premises will also be unreasonable. Third, the court ruled that where there is existing Federal Court of Canada jurisprudence on how to interpret Canadian immigration legislation, “it would be unreasonable for a decision maker to interpret or apply the provision without regard to that precedent.” Fourth, the Supreme Court affirmed that while visa officers do not have to address every piece of evidence, the failure of an officer to meaningfully grapple with key issues or central arguments raised by an applicant may render the decision unreasonable.

Fifth, the Supreme Court stressed that it is important for consistency in administrative determinations. In other words, whether someone gets a visa should not depend on whether the officer handling their case is ‘nice’ or ‘strict’.

Of particular note is that previously some Federal Court judges had stated that immigration officials could not follow what is written on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website. The Supreme Court appears to have cautioned against this, noting that summaries of past reasons, standards, and policy directives should guide the work of frontline decision makers. Going forward Vavilov is a new decision, and in 2020 the biggest story in Canadian immigration law will be how the Federal Court applies it. A more robust reasonableness standard is welcome, especially one which appears to say that immigration officials need to follow their department’s guidelines and the website. A lack of consistency is one of the biggest complaints about Canada’s immigration system, and hopefully a more pronounced emphasis on transparency and intelligibility will result in a fairer and rational process. Significance of the decision that a person born in Canada to undercover Russian spies is a Canadian citizen Steven Meurrens is an immigration lawyer with Larlee Rosenberg in Vancouver. Contact him at 604-681-9887, by email at steven.meurrens@larlee.com, or visit his blog at smeurrens.com.

The power of the printed word PARENTING

Seven reasons why print books are still powerful tools in the digital world

With increasing use of technologies, many parents are turning to electronic books, or other audiovisual media to replace reading oldfashioned print books to children. Does this mean that print books are obsolete? While there are pros and cons to both options, I believe that print books continue to be very effective learning tools.

Below are seven powerful reasons for families to pick up print books and start reading to children. 1. Print books help children to use their imagination, based on the words and illustrations provided on the pages of books. This provides an opportunity for the readers’ unique experience, knowledge, and vivid imagination to come alive, helping them build connections between the stories in the book and their imagination to bring the stories to life. 2. Reading books allows readers to control the pace of reading and the way the story is being told in comparison to audio-visual devices where one is not often able to control the speed of the narrative or the delivery. This helps readers choose what phrases or sentences to repeat, when to pause, slow down or speed up according to the needs or level of their children, so that they can best absorb the knowledge from the books. This also allows the parent to personalize the content by interjecting sound effects or comments along the way. 3. For those learning a new language, one can write or highlight the texts on their copy of the book,

make revisions, jot down notes on pronunciation of new words being learned or mark the words down in one’s own language, especially when it comes to learning a new language. 4. Print books don’t require costly equipment, batteries, apps, wi-fi or passwords! Anyone of pick up books from a local library or a bookstore and start reading, anywhere, anytime. 5. Print books are suitable for people of diverse levels of technology skills or literacy levels. From picture books to novels and non-fiction books, there is something for everyone. 6. Parents can rest assured that with a printed book, their children cannot wander to inappropriate online websites or be distracted by other online apps. This can help having to deal with negative behaviours associated with excessive technology. 7. Authors and illustrators often invest quite a bit of thought and effort in designing the book, from the placement of words, illustrations selected and the language chosen to create books for children of all ages and interests. Make use of some of that excellent learning material!

At the end of the day, reading together, whether it is an electronic or print book, is one of most effective ways to bond with our children, and connect on a deeper level. Remember that our children do not need or want digital storybooks with fancy effects or an audio-visual device that offers a professional storyteller with perfect English skills. What our children really need is having their parents’ time and attention – reading books together regularly can be a powerful bonding experience.

Cheryl Song, an immigrant from Malaysia, has more than 20 years’ experience of working in early learning and family programs. Contact her at cheryl@learnwithsong.com or visit her website at learnwithsong.com.

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BRINGING ‘GLOBAL CITIZENRY’ TO FASHION

Iranian-born entrepreneur Elle AyoubZadeh has paired her cross-continental background to create successful brand Zvelle, a globally-inspired line of women’s accessories

By Rebeca Kuropatwa

Born in Iran shortly after the revolution in 1981, Elle AyoubZadeh moved with her parents to Dubai and attended an American school until she was 13. They then moved to New Zealand where AyoubZadeh finished high school and attended university, studying business and specializing in luxury marketing.

“I always had this desire to see the world and do something with my life, so I bought a one-way ticket right after university to Australia... and that’s how I started my career in finance,” said AyoubZadeh.

“I’ve always been a person driven by instinct and didn’t see myself living the rest of my life in Australia. One day, I was standing outside of work and this bus went past. And, it had this ad on it that said, ‘Good things last longer in Canada.’ And I got this feeling in my gut and was on the phone with my mom when I saw it. And, I said to her, ‘I think I want to go to Canada.’ And my mom, God bless her, she’s always supported my big vision, what I want to do in life. And she said, ‘I’m sure you’re going to do that.’ And a couple weeks later, I saw the same ad, except it was in the newspaper, and I thought, this means something.”

After two years in Australia working for a global company, AyoubZadeh decided to ask for a transfer to the Canadian office in Toronto, which was looking to expand from 20 employees to 200 and needed all the help they could get.

Although she was given a nice promotion and a package to help cover her relocation costs when she came to Canada in 2007, having moved from one country to another as an adult a few times by then, AyoubZadeh knew that adjusting to a new country always comes with challenges.

“You get the good with the bad,” she said. “It’s like a coin with two different sides. When I moved here, it was when the financial crisis had hit. For me, a young person, single, and not knowing anyone in Canada, it was really the best time to immerse myself in work. I’ve always been very driven and very ambitious. I just enjoyed every challenge.

“I didn’t grow up with entrepreneurs, so I didn’t speak that language, but I did get really interested in venture capital. That was kind of the closest thing to building companies, for somebody with my skill set, which was really marketing, business development, and coming up with new ideas.” It was then that AyoubZadeh realized that she was ready to pursue her dream of opening her own business. Having had experience helping other people with their businesses, she developed very strict guidelines for how her business would look and operate.

Zvelle, the company AyoubZadeh founded in 2015 in Toronto, employs people in Toronto, Canada as well as Florence, Italy where the shoes and bags are made, marrying high end fashion with comfort, maintaining that one does not need to come at the expense of the other. She takes pride in the brand’s exquisite Italian craftsmanship, which she has paired with her cross-continental background to create this globally-inspired line of women’s accessories.

AyoubZadeh was blessed to have had a brother, Amir, who has a developmental disability. Helping her mom with a high needs child, ensured that AyoubZadeh developed coping skills that only people in her situation possess at a young age – also making her considered by her peers “un-cool,” which afforded her time to herself. What had sometimes seemed like a burden for a teenager, she now sees the value in as she considers herself a global citizen in a world in which we are all truly equal, regardless of race, colour, or religion.

And, it is with this mindset that she runs her business. “I think that, in

Canada, we live that way – that’s the beauty of this country,” said AyoubZadeh. “I believe in this so much that I decided to invest in building a company that really brings this idea of global citizenry to fashion. And, by ‘global citizenry,’ I’m talking about this mindset of being open to the world and embracing all the cultures, all the similarities and differences, and really applying it into everything you do.”

“That’s the world I grew up in and that I believe in. And, when we look around, I keep coming back to Canada. This is why people want to move here from all around the world. So, I wanted to bring that into fashion and really change the way women and their stories are portrayed.”

At the 2018 Canadian Arts & Fashion Awards (CAFA), Zvelle was nominated for the Accessory Designer of the Year Award. Zvelle is a direct-to-consumer brand, so it doesn’t have any permanent locations. Its most recent pop-up location was in Toronto.

By ‘global citizenry,’ I’m talking about this mindset of being open to the world and embracing all the cultures, all the similarities and differences, and really applying it into everything you do.”

They also name every style after different women from around the world – not famous women, but women who have a story that the company shares in their marketing. “It’s their way of impacting the world positively,” said AyoubZadeh.

“Everything I’m doing today would not be possible if my parents had not been immigrants, if I had not been an immigrant. “I think this helps me understand other cultures better at the end of the day, regardless of what language somebody speaks or what they look like. I think it is that human connection that we all have, where we can really get together if we decide to do something positive in the world. So, that’s my journey.”

Living a purpose-driven and ambitious life, AyoubZadeh is determined to leave a positive footprint on this universe, proclaiming that there are no limits to good you can do or be. And, to other immigrants, AyoubZadeh implores that they be themselves, keep their culture, and use it to contribute to Canada and the world – “unfold your own myth,” as Persian poet Rumi said.