CBA Conference: Updates from IRCC

As noted, Alastair Clarke moderated a session at the CBA National Immigration Conference in Victoria, BC. The conference hosted more than 600 immigration lawyers and it was sold out. For certain sessions, the rooms were packed, standing room only. This is an indication of the many changes at IRCC, at CBSA and at the IRB. Many rules have changed. Many policies have expired or been amended. We welcomed Officers from many different programs who provided updates on the changes and they provided tips for professionals.

We cannot provide all the information from the multi-day conference. Each session was extremely focused and we covered many different scenarios. During the conference, Alastair Clarke was able to speak with IRCC Managers at different programs to provide guidance for our clients.

Here are a few key points from various areas of immigration and refugee law:

Changes to Study Permits

• IRCC has made many changes to Study Permits and these changes have had a significant impact on int’l students as well as DLIs
• IRCC is focused on reducing the population of temporary residents to below 5% of the population in Canada
• Int’l students who change DLIs must submit a new SP from inside Canada
• Study Permits will continue to be DLI specific based on changes in 2024 and Study Permits that include regions (eg. “Any DLI – MB”) are affected by the changes
• IRCC will continue with the PAL system

Changes to Work Permits

• IRCC restrictions to many types of work permits are focused on reducing the population of temporary residents to below 5% of the population in Canada
• Flagpoling has been banned under most (but not all) circumstances and there is no indication when that ban will be lifted
• Immigration Consultants and agents abused the flagpoling procedure that caused significant additional work for CBSA Officers at POEs
• SOWP for spouses of int’ls students continue to be limited to applicants of spouses who are enrolled in master’s programs of 16 months or more, doctoral programs, certain professional programs, and select pilot programs

Humanitarian and Compassionate applications

• IRCC has announced H&C application intake is capped at 10,000 for 2025, 6,900 for 2026 and 4,300 for 2027
• Certain immigration lawyers predict that H&C processing times will significantly increase. One lawyer predicts it may go up to 9 years.
• Another prediction related to the section of the Strong Borders Act that allows IRCC to cancel the processing of applications in inventory may be used to eliminate the backlog
• More than 100,000 H&C applications may be in the backlog

AI Tools and AI-Generated Content

• IRCC Officers repeated that AI is not making final decisions on applications
• The Federal Court provided guidance to counsel on the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools
• NOTE: At CIL, we do not use AI tools, including ChatGPT, at our office

Refugee Claims

• IRCC is focused on reducing access to the RPD
• The Strong Borders Act may ban international students who have been in Canada for more than one (1) year from filing a refugee claim
• There is a significant and growing backlog of cases at the RPD and all regions are affected
• IRCC did not expect to see such a large increase in refugee claims made by international students

Inadmissibility and Misrepresentation

• IRCC has seen a significant increase in misrepresentation (A40) and they have issued many PFLs
• IRCC is sharing information with the USA and other members of the Five Eyes alliance to catch applicants who are not honest

There were many other topics covered at the conference, including LMIA applications, criminality issues, detention reviews and advocacy. We will use all the information covered to benefit our clients and help them navigate our complex system.