Gregory James
Immigration Law Firm
Your Future ≈ Your Children's Future
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Hearings
Cases decided by the
Immigration and Refugee
Board of Canada (IRB) almost always involve a hearing. Cases decided by
the
A “hearing” is an opportunity to
present a
case to a decision maker in a structured setting, more or less like in
a courtroom.
Except for
Refugee
Protection Division hearings it is almost always
adversarial, meaning that there is someone there representing the
Minister of
Citizenship and Immigration or Canada Border Services Agency. That
agent is
presenting a case against the
migrant. The decision maker is either an
IRB member or a judge of
the
As you would expect, hearings are much more structured and formal than interviews. There are more technicalities involved: there are rules for what procedures have to be followed, and legalistic definitions of different kinds of status. Although witnesses (including the client) will be asked questions by their own counsel, they will also be asked questions by an officer, and often by the decision maker too.
Hearings are seen as necessary for cases involving more significant rights, such as detention, refugee claims, loss of permanent resident status, appeals of sponsorship refusals, and the more serious allegations that can lead to deportation. However, even in thesevery serious situations, there are some cases that are not given a hearing, often for technical reasons.
It is extremely important to prepare very well for a hearing from the earliest possible moment – in some cases even before the case is commenced. Documents must be carefully prepared and filed, and witnesses (including the client) must be carefully prepared to testify. Counsel must prepare effective oral submissions.
Gregory James helps prepare for hearings by making sure that his clients prepare and present the best documents available, that they and their witnesses are ready to answer questions in an effective manner, and that the submissions presented to the decision maker are carefully prepared and persuasive.
For more information on why you should consider hiring a
lawyer, see our hiring
guide.
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