CARL’s Fall 2023 National Conference

10:30AM (EDT)

11:30AM (ADT)

11:00AM (EDT)

12:00PM (ADT)

11:05AM (EDT)

12:05PM (ADT)

11:15AM (EDT)

12:15PM (ADT)

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT INTERNAL FLIGHT ALTERNATIVE (IFA)

Internal flight alternative (IFA) is an essential element of the international refugee definition – and one on which many claims are rejected. This panel aims to equip lawyers with the latest caselaw and strategies for addressing IFA. In terms of procedural fairness, the speakers will address what type of advanced notice a decision-maker must give when raising an IFA (at the RPD, RAD and PRRA); what is meant by an “opportunity to respond”; what to do you when you’re in a hearing and lack familiarity with the identified IFA. In terms of substantive law, the speakers will address the two-part test for an IFA and novel factors to advance in convincing a decision-maker than an IFA is unsafe or unreasonable. Lastly, the speakers will be highlighting some IFA arguments/evidence from some of the top source countries.

MODERATOR: Darcy Golden (Vancouver)

12:15PM (EDT)

1:15PM (ADT)

CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE EVOLVING INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE DEFINITION

The international refugee definition is ever evolving and its newest frontier will be climate refugees. The speakers will address the possible entry points in s.96 and 97 of the IRPA for incorporating climate migration / climate refugees as well as what are some of the barriers. They will also be addressing where else in the IRPA could climate migration / climate refugees be considered. In doing so, the speakers will be reviewing the international jurisprudence on this topic and the newly emerging domestic jurisprudence as well as highlighting CARL’s own recently published policy paper on climate migration / climate refugees.

MODERATOR: Tania Princz-Lebel (Ottawa)

12:45PM (EDT)

1:45PM (ADT)

CARL’s Annual General Meeting of Members

CARL annual general meeting (AGM) allows our members to vote on important matters relating to the organization. At this AGM, we will be voting to (i) adopt CARL’s financial statements; (ii) renew the terms of CARL Executive members whose 2-year terms are coming to a close; and (iii) on a special resolution to change the composition of the Executive.

Also at the AGM, we are excited to award the annual Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers Advocacy Award (the “CARLAA”) to this year’s worthy recipients. Find out who this year’s CARLAA winner is at the AGM.

1:10PM (EDT)

2:10PM (ADT)

2:00PM (EDT)

3:00PM (ADT)

HOW TO EFFECTIVELY INTERVIEW CLAIMANTS AND HOW TO DEAL WITH BOC OMISSIONS WHEN THEY OCCUR 

This panel brings together Dr. Ronald Fisher and Dr. Hilary Evans Cameron, who are both experts in their fields and have jointly conducted training for IRB Members. Dr. Fisher is an expert in the effective interviewing of witness – how to craft questions and conduct interviews to ensure that you are receiving the most useful and complete information. He has experience in developing interviewing techniques for witnesses of terrorist attacks and other disasters and is well versed in explaining and incorporating how trauma can effect memory. Dr. Fisher will be adapting his research to give participants best practice techniques for interviewing refugee claimants when preparing Basis of Claim narratives. Dr. Cameron is an expert on the assessment of credibility in refugee status determination. Amongst her many insightful publications is her recent 2023 paper: Sin of Omission: Exploring a Key Credibility Inference in Canadian Refugee Status Rejections. Dr. Cameron will interrogate the IRB’s uses and misuses of Basis of Claim omissions in its credibility assessments, including how lawyers can best explain to a decision-maker that an omission can nonetheless be consistent with a truthful claimant.

MODERATOR: Heather Neufeld (Ottawa)

3:00PM (EDT)

4:00PM (ADT)

This summer, the IRB published its Chairperson’s Guideline 8: Accessibility to IRB Proceedings — Procedural Accommodations and Substantive Considerations. At almost three times the length of the previous guideline it replaced, the new Guideline 8 is essential reading for lawyers appearing before the IRB. The speaker will highlight specific tools, accommodations, and guidance detailed in the Guideline that effective counsel should be using and citing in their cases. Attendees will gain a strong grasp of what provisions of the new Guideline 8 every lawyer should have at their fingertips going into a hearing and what provisions could be expanded further by counsel to benefit clients.

MODERATOR: Kate Webster (Toronto)

3:30PM (EDT)

4:30PM (ADT)

4:00PM (EDT)

5:00PM (ADT)

STRATEGIES WHEN FACING A NEGATIVE DECISION – HOW AND WHEN TO CHOOSE BETWEEN JR, RE-OPENING OR RECONSIDERATION 

No one wants to receive a negative decision for a client. But it is important to know how to select the correct recourse when you do. This panel will explore the three main recourses available to clients – judicial review, reopening, and reconsideration. The speakers will distinguish each option, what the pros and cons of each are, and help to identify scenarios in which you should be selecting one over the other. The speakers will also be delving into more detail into reopenings at the IRB and reconsiderations in IRCC applications, including identifying the applicable legal tests and providing best practices for preparing an effective application.

SPEAKERS: Anthony Navaneelan (Toronto) and Patil Tutunjian (Montréal)

MODERATOR: Nicholas Hersh (Ottawa)

5:00PM (EDT)

6:00PM (ADT)