Your Legal Rights is a project of CLEO and funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.

1. This webinar is brought to you by Your Legal Rights: a website of legal information for people in Ontario. www.yourlegalrights.on.ca Your Legal Rights is a project of CLEO and funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.

2. About our presenter… Tamar Witelson is the Legal Director at METRAC.  Her background includes practice in labour and human rights law, and in Constitutional law for the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.  She was also counsel at the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, and before joining METRAC was staff lawyer at the Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), running an equality rights law and information website. Your Legal Rights is a project of CLEO and funded by the Law Foundation of Ontario.

3. Immigration, Women and Children Part 1: Basic Concepts March 22, 2012 Tamar Witelson, Legal Director, METRAC Raoul Boulakia, Immigration and Refugee Lawyer, Toronto, Ontario

4. METRAC METRAC, the Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence Against Women and Children • works to end violence against women, youth and children • a not-for-profit, community-based organization www.metrac.org METRAC’s Community Justice Program • provides accessible legal information and education for women and service providers • focuses on law that affects women, from diverse backgrounds, especially those experiencing violence or abuse FLEW, Family Law Education for Women in Ontario • provides information on women’s rights and options under Ontario family law • in 14 languages, accessible formats, online and in print www.onefamilylaw.ca

5. Presenters Raoul Boulakia Refugee and Immigration Lawyer, Toronto, Ontario Tamar Witelson Legal Director, METRAC

6. Topics to be Covered • First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer • Assess Safety • Understand the Problem • Collect Information about her Immigration File • Understand Her Story • Different Kinds of Immigration Status in Canada • Common Immigration Terms • Potential Risks to Your Immigration Status in Canada • Options when Your Status is at Risk • How to Find Help • Additional Resources Information is accurate as of March 22, 2012

7. Introduction Barriers to leaving an abusive relationship: • Concern about children and custody • Fear of homelessness and poverty • Controlling partners and other family members • Attitudes of family, friends and community members • Not knowing legal rights • Fear of the legal system • Not knowing about resources or how to find help • Discrimination • Immigration status or lack of status

8. First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer

9. First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer • Assess safety • make a safety plan • ensure she and her children are safe Abuse can be: • physical violence • threats of harm • treatment that causes emotional or psychological suffering In most emergencies, call 911

10. First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer For information, if your partner is abusive or violent: Assaulted Women’s Helpline http://www.awhl.org/ • 24 hours/7 days; multiple languages • Toll-free: 1-866-863-0511;
TTY: 1-866-863-7868 Legal Aid Ontario http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/type_domesticviolence.asp • Available to every immigration status • Free telephone interpretation services for languages other than English and French • Toll-free: 1-800-668-8258; TTY: 1-866-641-8867 Family Violence Authorization Program (Legal Aid Ontario) • Free 2-hour emergency meeting with a lawyer • Offered through some shelters and community legal clinics • Toll-free: 1-800-668-8258; TTY: 1-866-641-8867 FLEW (Family Law Education for Women) Resources page http://www.onefamilylaw.ca/en/resources/

11. First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer 2. Understanding the problem may involve multiple areas of law • Patricia’s example scenario: • Family Issues • custody of her child • separation/divorce • child/spousal support • child protection • Criminal Issues • Possible assault charges • Possible protection order • Immigration Issues • has applied for permanent residence • partner is sponsoring her • risk of deportation

12. First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer 3. Getting Accurate Knowledge of the Immigration File Collect Information: • Phone Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) • Toll free: 1-888-242-2100 • http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/index.asp • Make a Privacy Act request to: • Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) AND • Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) • If client has previously been represented, ask previous lawyer for a copy of her file

13. First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer 3. Getting Accurate Knowledge of the Immigration File (continued) Get Permission to Collect Information: • Designated Individual Form (for communications with CBSA/CIC) • Privacy Consent Form (for communications with lawyers or other offices)

14. First Steps: Before Meeting with a Lawyer 4. Understand Her Story: • get the details • consider an interpreter • gather identity documents • gather evidence of: • abuse • how her children will be affected • evidence of hardship or risk in country of origin • her financial situation • her connections to the community/ties in Canada • help her find a lawyer

15. Different Kinds of Immigration Status in Canada

16. Different Kinds of Immigration Status in Canada • Citizen • Permanent Resident • Family Class: • Spouse or common-law or conjugal partner (including same-sex partners) • Application from abroad or in Canada • Parent or child

17. Different Kinds of Immigration Status in Canada • Permanent Resident • Economic classes (and their dependents) • skilled workers • Canadian experience • investors • entrepreneurs • Refugee Claimant, Convention Refugee or Protected person

18. Different Kinds of Immigration Status in Canada • Temporary Resident • Workers • Students • Visitors • Non-Status Persons

19. Different Kinds of Immigration Status in Canada Refugees • Well-founded fear of persecution in their country of origin based on: • race • religion • political opinion • nationality • membership in a particular social group (such as women or sexual orientation) AND • government of country of origin cannot protect them

20. Different Kinds of Immigration Status in Canada • Refugees • Gender Based Refugee Claims

21. Common Immigration Terms

22. Common Immigration Terms • Refugee Hearing • Admissibility/ Inadmissibility • Detention • Deportation Order • Departure Order • Exclusion Order

23. Potential Risks to Your Immigration Status in Canada

24. Potential Risks to Your Immigration Status in Canada • Citizen • misrepresentation • Permanent Resident • malicious denunciations • criminal convictions • misrepresentation

25. Potential Risks to Your Immigration Status in Canada • Application in progress • Citizenship • Permanent Residency • Refugee Claim • Non Status • always at risk • involving the police

26. Presenters Raoul Boulakia Refugee and Immigration Lawyer, Toronto, Ontario Tamar Witelson Legal Director, METRAC

27. Understanding Options

28. Understanding Options • When there is a risk of deportation: • Refugee Claim • Judicial Review • Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) • Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) application

29. Understanding Options • Humanitarian & Compassionate Applications: • made from within Canada • no stay of removal without an order from the Federal Court • domestic violence • best interests of the child • establishment in Canada • hardship in country of origin • impact on others living in Canada

30. Understanding Options • Humanitarian & Compassionate Applications: • Factors that may lead to inadmissibility • criminal record • poor health • prior misrepresentation

31. Understanding Options • When there is a risk of deportation: • for a Permanent Resident • request discretion not to proceed with inadmissibility hearing • appeal inadmissibility decision to the Immigration Appeal Division

32. Presenters Raoul Boulakia Refugee and Immigration Lawyer, Toronto, Ontario Tamar Witelson Legal Director, METRAC

33. How to Find Help

34. How to Find Help 1. Legal Aid Ontario • Must meet financial eligibility requirement • Refugee Law Office • Legal Aid office that specializes in immigration and refugee law • Certificate for opinion letter • Certificate for representation • Assists clients with: • refugee claims and other risk assessment applications • detention reviews • appeals of Deportation Orders and Federal Court hearings, including stays of removal

35. How to Find Help 1. Legal Aid Ontario (continued) • Legal Aid Certificates in cases of domestic violence Toll-free: 1-800-668-8258 • Legal Aid has a list of lawyers who may be willing to accept Legal Aid Certificates for their services www.legalaid.on.ca

36. How to Find Help • Community Legal Clinics http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/contact.asp?type=cl • may have information – some offer immigration services, most do not offer family law services • may have access to list of immigration and/or family law lawyers • 77 community legal clinics in Ontario • 17 specialty clinics, serving specific communities • 6 student legal clinics • Justice Net http://www.justicenet.ca/directory/search/ • a not-for-profit service • a resource for low income people who don’t qualify for Legal Aid • a source to find lawyers who work for a reduced fee • Toll-free: 1-866-919-3219

37. How to Find Help 4. Immigration & Refugee Law Lawyers in Private Practice • Recommended by a friend or support agency • Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) Directory • Certified Immigration Law Specialists http://www1.lsuc.on.ca/specialist/jsp/namelist1.jsp?code=CII&region= • Certified Refugee Law Specialists http://www1.lsuc.on.ca/specialist/jsp/namelist1.jsp?code=CIR&region= • Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) Referral Service • provides a lawyer in your area • 30 minutes free to discuss legal options • no requirement to hire lawyer • only one referral for each issue • Toll-free: 1-800-268-8326 http://www.lsuc.on.ca/faq.aspx?id=2147486372

38. Presenters Raoul Boulakia Refugee and Immigration Lawyer, Toronto, Ontario Tamar Witelson Legal Director, METRAC

39. Additional Resources

40. Resources (Immigration) Find a community legal clinic near you http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/contact.asp?type=cl Community & Specialty Legal Clinics http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/contact.asp?type=cl • Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples • Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic • Refugee and Immigrants Information Centre Toronto • South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario FCJ Refugee Centre http://www.fcjrefugeecentre.org/ • 416-469-9754 Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers http://www.refugeelawyersgroup.ca/ Refugee Lawyers Association of Ontario http://www.rlaontario.com/ Settlement.orghttp://www.settlement.org/index.asp • Information and answers on settling in Ontario 211 Canada.ca http://211canada.ca/ • Find available immigrant and refugee serving organizations in your area

41. Resources (Immigration) Legal Aid Refugee Law Office http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/type_immigration.asp • 416-977-8111 Citizenship and Immigration Canada http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp • Call Centre Toll-free: 1-888-242‑2100 • TTY: 1-888-576‑8502 • More Contacts: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/index.asp Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration (Ontario) http://www.citizenship.gov.on.ca/ • Find information about citizenship and immigration in Ontario • General Inquiry: (416) 327-2422 • Toll-free: 1-800-267-7329 • TTY: 1-800-555-5559 Canadian Council for Refugees http://ccrweb.ca/en/home • Directory of immigrant and refugee serving organizations in your area http://ccrweb.ca/en/links • 514-277-7223

42. Resources (Family) Assaulted Women’s Helpline www.awhl.org • Toll-free: 1-866-863-0511;TTY: 1.866.863.7868 • Toronto: 416-863-0511 Legal Aid Ontario http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/default.asp • Toll-free: 1-800-668-8258;TTY: 1-866-641-8867 • Toronto: 416-979-1446 (accepts collect calls) Family Law Information Program (FLIP) http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/flip.asp Family Law Information Centres (FLICs) http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/getting/type_family.asp Family Law Services Centres (FLSCs) http://www.legalaid.on.ca/en/contact/contact.asp?type=flsc FLEW (Family Law Education for Women) http://www.onefamilylaw.ca/en/resources/ Ontario Women’s Justice Network (OWJN) www.owjn.org

43. Resources (General) Law Society of Upper Canada Lawyer Referral Service http://www.lsuc.on.ca/with.aspx?id=697 • Toll-free: 1-800-268-8326 • Toronto: 416-947-3330 • TTY: 416-644-4886 Toolkit for a good Client-Lawyer Relationship http://schliferclinic.com/vars/legal/pblo/toolkit.htm • Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic Ministry of the Attorney General http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/ • Toll free: 1-800-518-7901 • TTY: 1-877-425-0575

44. This webinar was brought to you by Your Legal Rights: A website of legal information for people in Ontario For more information visit Your Legal Rights at www.yourlegalrights.on.ca For more public legal information webinars visit: www.yourlegalrights.on.ca/training