Use of Representative Form, flattened (as image)

Inland Refugee Claims - GTA (Updated March 25)

Currently IRCC is taking in-land refugee claims by email.

1. Email IRCC.RefugeeClaim-Demandedasile.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
2. You will receive an email questionnaire (a copy of which is below)
3. Reply to the email, and include scans of the applicable identity documents and Use of Representative Forms; provide proof of presence in Canada

• There is no physical dropbox
• We do not know if the forms will be required later
• Turnaround time is a few days at least

General email

Hello/ Bonjour:

Only respond to this email if you are in Canada.  If your spouse, partner, or children are accompanying you, please include each additional family member in the “Additional Family Members” section. In order to make a claim for refugee status in Canada, please provide the following essential information, based on the information as it appears in your passport:

Veuillez répondre à ce courriel uniquement si vous êtes au Canada. Si votre époux(se), partenaire ou enfants vous accompagnent, veuillez inclure chaque membre de la famille additionnel dans la section «Membres de la famille additionnels». Afin de présenter une demande d’asile au Canada, veuillez fournir les renseignements essentiels suivants, tels qu’ils figurent dans votre passeport :

1. Family Name/ Nom de Famille:

2. Given Name/ Prénom:

3. Date of Birth/ Date de naissance:

4. Country of Birth/ Pays de naissance:

5. Country of Citizenship/ Citoyenneté:

6. Marital Status/ État matrimonial:

7. Gender/Genre:

8. Passport Number (if available)/ Numéro de passeport (si disponible):

9. Visa Number (if available)/ Numéro du visa (si disponible) :

10.Electronic Travel Authorization Number (if available) / Numéro d’ Autorisation de voyage électronique (si disponible):

11. Current Address/ Adresse actuelle :

12. Telephone Number/ Numéro de téléphone :

13. Correspondence Language (English or French)/ Langue de correspondance (anglais ou Français) :

14. Language Spoken (if not English or French)/ Langue parlée (si ce n’est l’anglais ou le français):

Additional Family Members living with you in Canada / Membres de la famille additionnels vivant avec vous au Canada:

	Spouse/ Époux(se)	Child/ Enfant	Child/ Enfant	Child/ Enfant
Family Name/ Nom de Famille:
Given Name/ Prénom:
Date of Birth/ Date de naissance:
Country of Birth/ Pays de naissance:
Citizenship/ Citoyenneté:
Marital Status/ État matrimonial:
Gender/Genre:
Passport Number/ Numéro de passeport

Please attach a photo of the biographic page of your passport or identification document, as well as that of your spouse, partner, or children accompanying you. After you respond with the required information, IRCC will send you an Acknowledgement of Claim letter by email. To avoid delays, please only send one request per person or family.  By responding to this email, you are confirming your physical presence in Canada.

Veuillez joindre une photo de la page biographique de votre passeport ou pièce d'identité, ainsi que celle de votre conjoint, partenaire ou enfants qui vous accompagnent. Après avoir répondu avec les informations requises, IRCC vous enverra une lettre d'accusé de réception par courriel. Afin d’éviter les retards, veuillez envoyer une seule demande par personne ou par famille.

Thank you/ Merci

Request for proof of residence

Please provide us with the information as required below :

1.       Proof of residence in Canada (most recent – within the last 6 months):

a.       utility bill, residential lease, bank statement, or letter of confirmation of residence from a shelter

b.      Your name and complete address must appear

c.       Scan and attach

OR

2.       Proof of entry to Canada (most recent – within the last 6 months):

a.       Passport stamp

b.      Scan and attach

Erica Olmstead's compilation memo

Link to Erica Olmstead's compilation memo: https://www.dropbox.com/s/invje7ugeywvy4y/IRCC%20IRB%20and%20Court%20updates%20v2.docx?dl=0

Federal Court Practice Direction (March 17) and FAQ (March 20)

The most recent Federal Court practice direction (March 17, 2020) and update (March 20, 2020) are reproduced below, in English

• For the Practice Direction: the original, including the Order of the Chief Justice and a list of all the phone numbers for the registries, is available at: https://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/content/assets/pdf/base/Covid-19%20Practice%20Direction%20and%20Order_FINAL%202020-03-17%20(for%20release).pdf (archived version)
• For the FAQ: the original, and the French, are available at: https://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/content/assets/pdf/base/Federal%20Court%20-%20Cour%20f%C3%A9d%C3%A9rale%20Summary%20&%20FAQ%20COVID-19%20(Eng-fr).pdf (archived version)

Practice Direction and Order (COVID-19) [March 17, 2020]

March 17, 2020 - Having regard to developments since the Federal Court issued a communication on Friday March 13, 2020, the Court will further restrict the scope of its operations in the coming weeks.

Those developments have included updated advice from both the Chief Public Health Officer and the Chief Human Resources Officer as well as new travel restrictions announced by the Prime Minister. In addition, the Court has been apprised of the significant difficulties being encountered by members of the bar, including both the private bar and government counsel, when attempting to work from home. Some Court staff are encountering similar difficulties. 

Extended Suspension Period 

All Federal Court hearings previously scheduled to be heard between now and April 17, 2020

(the “Suspension Period”) are being adjourned sine die. [Note: For greater certainty, March 18 and April 17 are included in the Suspension Period.] This includes hearings that were scheduled to proceed by way of a telephone conference.

Likewise, all General Sittings falling within the Suspension Period are cancelled. Matters already made returnable at a General Sittings during that time will be placed on the roll of the first General Sittings that is scheduled to be held at least two weeks after the end of the Suspension Period, for that city.

Exceptions

The Suspension Period is subject to the following two exceptions: (i) urgent matters, and (ii) matters that need to proceed as previously scheduled for exceptional reasons. The Court will determine what constitutes “urgent” and “exceptional” on a case-by-case basis.

By way of guidance only, applications for a stay of release from detention or for a stay of removal from Canada will be considered to be “urgent” if the release or removal is scheduled to occur during the Suspension Period, or within a few days following its termination. Likewise, an application in respect of the seizure of a ship will also be considered to be urgent. Similarly, matters where hardship or substantial financial consequences are likely to result from delay may be considered to be “urgent” or “exceptional.” Such matters will be heard by telephone conference.

Suspension of Timelines

The running of all timelines under Orders and Directions of the Court made prior to March 18, 2020, as well as under the Federal Courts Rules, subsection 18.1(2) of the Federal Courts Act and paragraph 72(2)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, is being suspended for the Suspension Period. All other statutory filing deadlines continue to apply. Parties will be able to request an extension of time for deadlines set out in other applicable statutes if they are unable to meet the filing deadlines in light of current circumstances. However, they should refrain from doing so until after the Suspension Period.

Rescheduling

Parties shall provide the Judicial Administrator with their mutual dates of non-availability for the rescheduling of hearings that have been adjourned, no sooner than May 1, 2020 and no later than the close of business on May 15, 2020. Where a matter has previously been placed in case management, please send such dates to the attention of the case management judge.

Electronic Filing and Service of Documents

Parties are encouraged to use the Court’s E-filing portal to file documents, or e-mail (max 25 MB) for urgent documents [FC_Reception_CF@cas-satj.gc.ca]. For more information regarding electronic filing and electronic service of documents between parties, please consult the Federal Court’s Notice to the Profession and Annex thereto.

Parties who file documents electronically during the Suspension Period are exempted from any requirement to file paper copies.

Personal service of an originating document filed electronically by a party other than the Crown in proceedings brought under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or the Citizenship Act shall be effected by the Registry on the Crown, the Attorney General of Canada or any other Minister of the Crown in accordance with the practice under Rule 133 of the Federal Courts Rules, thereby relieving an applicant from the requirement to effect personal service.

Court Facilities

The Court strongly recommends that parties, their counsel, members of the media and the general public refrain from attending to its facilities across the country.

The Court will maintain only a very small skeleton staff during the Suspension Period for urgent and exceptional matters. On-site skeleton staff will not be monitoring registry counters. 

Persons wishing to file paper copies of documents are requested to telephone the applicable number indicated in Appendix 1 to this Practice Direction and Order. One of the on-site skeleton staff will then explain how to provide the documents to the Court.

Members of the media and general public seeking access to the Court record can request electronic copies of documents from the Registry at the following e-mail address: mediafct@fct-cf.gc.ca 

Cooperation of Counsel

The Court strongly encourages counsel and parties to make a concerted effort to settle their dispute, and, if they are not successful, to cooperate in identifying new dates for hearings or other matters that have been adjourned or postponed.

Ongoing Monitoring of the Situation and Restoration of Regular Operations

The Court will be attentively monitoring this extraordinary situation as it evolves. Parties are encouraged to regularly check the Court’s website for updates and for information regarding the restoration of the Court’s regular operations.

Flexibility

The Court is committed to being as flexible as reasonably possible in assisting the public to deal

with this extraordinary situation and the hardship that it is causing.

Update: Practice Direction and Order (COVID-19) [March 20, 2020]

March 20, 2020 – In response to questions that the Court has been receiving, the following update is provided:

a) FAQ – answers to frequently asked and anticipated questions have been prepared. The FAQ list will be published on the Court website Notices page and updated from time to time.

b) Identification of Practice Issues – parties and counsel may advise the Court of any additional issues arising under, or suggestions for improvement of, the Practice Direction and Order (COVID-19) dated March 17, 2020 in writing at: media-fct@fct-cf.gc.ca

c) Amendment – the Court intends to issue an amended Practice Direction and Order (COVID-19) in the coming days, to address the issues that have been identified.

Frequently Asked Questions: Practice Direction and Order (COVID-19)

1. Question: Does the Suspension Period apply to timelines under the Federal Courts Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection Rules (FCCIRP Rules) and to the time limit for filing a Notice of the Application pursuant to s. 72 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)?

Answer: Yes, the intention is that the Suspension Period apply to all Federal Court proceedings, including those under IRPA. Pursuant to the statutory authority provided at paragraph 72(2)(c) of the IRPA, subsection 21(2) of the FCCIRP Rules and Rules 3 and 55 of the Federal Courts Rules (Rules), the Suspension Period also covers the initiation of those proceedings, as well as any procedural steps falling within the Suspension Period. This will be clarified in an amendment.

2. Question: Does the Suspension Period apply to the time limit for filing a Notice of the Application pursuant to s 22.1 of the Citizenship Act (CA)?

Answer: Yes, the intention is that the Suspension Period apply to all Federal Court proceedings, including those under the CA. Pursuant to the statutory authority provided at 22.1(2)(b) of the CA and the aforementioned provisions of the Rules, the Suspension Period also covers the initiation of those proceedings, and any procedural steps falling within the Suspension Period. This will be clarified in an amendment.

3. Question: Does the Suspension Period apply to timelines or fixed dates set under Orders and Directions of the Court?

Answer: Yes, the Suspension Period applies to timelines or fixed dates set under Orders and Directions, unless they are explicitly set on a “peremptory” basis.

4. Question: The Practice Direction and Order setting out the Suspension Period were issued very late on March 17th. Is March 17th included in the Suspension Period? In any event, given that people were being encouraged by public authorities to stay at home on March 16th and 17th, will those dates be included in the Suspension Period?

Answer: The Notice and Order will be amended to clarify that March 17 is included in the Suspension Period and to add March 16, with retroactive effect.

5. Question: Do timelines run on the first day and last day of the Suspension Period?

Answer: No, the first and last days are included in the Suspension Period for the purpose of calculating revised deadlines. As discussed above, the first day will now be March 16th. The intent is that a party will just pick up from where things stood before the Suspension Period, as if the intervening period never existed. So, for example, if that party had three days prior to March 16th to do something, the party will have those same three days at the end of the Suspension Period. The other party would then have the period originally contemplated after that to complete its next step, with all remaining steps in the litigation similarly and sequentially extended.

6. Question: Does the Suspension Period apply to statutory deadlines other than those specifically mentioned in the Practice Direction and Order?

Answer: No. The deadlines for commencing actions, appeals or applications under other statutes apply and cannot be extended or varied unless permitted under the terms of and in the manner prescribed by those statutes. Unless the Court has been given authority, and has exercised that authority, to change a statutory deadline or other time period, that deadline or time period will therefore continue to apply, subject to any action that Parliament or the Governor-in-Council may decide to take, or where applicable, the Legislature of each province (e.g., for provincial statutes of

limitations).

7. Question: If an existing Direction or Order sets a fixed date for completion of a step (e.g., filing a document) that is scheduled to occur after the end of the Suspension Period, will the party automatically have X days (equivalent to the duration of the Suspension Period) extra to complete that step?

Answer: Yes. Any specific date fixed by order or direction for completion of a step in a proceeding that is governed by the Practice Direction is extended for a period equivalent to the Suspension Period. If the extended deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, it is automatically extended to the next business day.

8. Question: For IMM or Citizenship proceedings for which leave was granted and a hearing was scheduled outside the Suspension period, will the hearing be re-scheduled?

Answer: The Court is encouraging parties to discuss amongst themselves and use the option in the last paragraph of the leave granted order to consent to an alternate timeline for the filing of outstanding documents should they wish their matter to proceed as soon as practicable. If necessary, parties may request an adjournment of their hearing while keeping in mind the volume of matters that will need to be re-scheduled.

9. Question: A scheduled hearing in my file has been automatically cancelled pursuant to the Practice Direction and Order (COVID19). How do I request that the matter instead be decided on the basis of written representations? 

Answer: A party may submit a request to the Registry via its email address: FC_Reception_CF@cas-satj.gc.ca. Parties are encouraged to consider this option in order to have their matter decided expeditiously and avoid the many reschedulings the Court will address once operations are back to normal.

10. Question: A scheduled hearing in my file is proceeding on an urgent or exceptional basis pursuant to the Practice Direction and Order (COVID-19). How do I prepare for the hearing?

Answer: Parties are encouraged to use the Court’s E-filing portal to file all documents. However, if the documents were not already filed electronically via the e-filing portal, you should submit documents required for the hearing to the Registry via its e-mail address: FC_Reception_CF@cas-satj.gc.ca.

11. [Question:] Does the Court have resources to assist me with understanding the steps to prepare and file documents electronically?

Answer: Parties should use the Court’s E-filing portal to file all documents. On an exceptional basis, where parties cannot access the E-filing portal and the filing of documents is urgent, parties may file by e-mail (max 25 MB) [FC_Reception_CF@cassatj.gc.ca]. For more information regarding electronic filing and electronic service of documents between parties, please consult the Federal Court’s Notice to the Profession and Annex thereto.

The Court is also developing an e-Filing Toolkit to assist litigants shift from paper-based litigation processes to electronic processes. The first edition should be available by the end of March 2020 and

will be posted on the Court website at: https://www.fctcf.gc.ca/en/pages/online-access/e-filing#cont

12. Question: In order to e-file a document, how do I submit an electronic document that requires a signature (e.g., an affidavit)?

Answer: Please refer to the Annex to the Court’s Notice to the Profession regarding E-filing. The Annex provides the following:

“Signatures”
With the exception of affidavits and statutory declarations, a filer is not required to scan a document just to prove the presence of signatures. Documents filed solely with a typewritten signature are considered to meet the signature requirement under Rule 66(3).
For affidavits (including affidavits of service) and statutory declarations, the filer should file either a scanned version of the document with handwritten signature or an un-scanned version of the document with a typewritten signature. Copies of all documents sent electronically should be kept for 30 days after the expiry of all appeal periods. For paper-based documents that are scanned to a digital format for electronic filing, the original paper document should be kept.

Authority for Ontario Declaration of Emergency

According to the Ontario government information page, the declaration of emergency has been made under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9.

That page links, incorrectly, to s. 4 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e09#BK5) which is about a municipality declaring an emergency.

It is s. 7.0.1 (https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90e09#BK12) which allows a premier to declare an emergency for the province.

Lawyers are an essential workplaces in Ontario

UPDATED: https://immref-emerg.blogspot.com/2020/04/lawyers-are-still-essential-in-ontario.html

As of midnight tonight, only essential workplaces are allowed to remain open.

The full list of essential workplaces can be found here: https://www.ontario.ca/page/list-essential-workplaces (archive link). Lawyers and anyone else involved in supporting the justice system are covered, including interpreters.

The preamble to the list notes:

For the purposes of this order, businesses include any for-profit, non-profit or other entity providing the goods and services described herein.

This does not preclude the provision of work and services by entities not on this list either online, by telephone or by mail/delivery.

Note that teleworking and online commerce are permitted at all times for all businesses.

Businesses of particular interest to imm/ref lawyers:

1. Businesses that supply other essential businesses or essential services with the support, supplies, systems or services, including processing, packaging, distribution, delivery and maintenance necessary to operate

2. Businesses engaged in the retail and wholesale sale of food, pet food and supplies, and household consumer products necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation and essential operations of residences and businesses, including grocery stores, supermarkets, convenience stores, markets and other similar retailers

...

9. Businesses that supply office products and services, including providing computer products and related repair and maintenance services, for individuals working from home and for essential businesses

...

11. Restaurants and other food facilities that prepare and serve food, but only for delivery or takeaway, together with food delivery services

...

14. Businesses engaged in providing or supporting Information Technology (IT) including online services, software products and related services, as well as the technical facilities such as data centres and other network facilities necessary for their operation and delivery

15. Businesses providing telecommunications services (phone, internet, radio, cell phones etc.) as well as support facilities such as call centres necessary for their operation and delivery

16. Taxis and other private transportation providers providing transportation services necessary for activities of daily living

...

34. Businesses that provide financial services including payment processing, the payroll division of any employer (as defined by the Employment Standards Act/Occupational Health and Safety Act), any entity whose operation is the administration of payroll, banks and credit unions

...

61. Professional and social services that support the legal and justice system

...

63. Businesses providing mailing, shipping, courier and delivery services, including post office boxes

...

65. Professional services including lawyers and para-legals, engineers, accountants, translators