Join Chantal, Cathryn, and immigration lawyer, Raj Sharma as they navigate the complex and consequential maze of Canada’s inadmissibility laws, keeping in mind the question, “Does one act define you for a lifetime?”
In this episode, they examine the unique personal and professional challenges of representing clients trying to overcome a finding of inadmissibility. When the stakes are so high, how do practitioners handle the emotional repercussions of working on these cases? Chantal, Cathryn and Raj discuss their experiences practicing in this complex area, offering advice on emotional investment and advocacy for their fellow immigration practitioners.
We then dive into a roundtable discussion on criminal inadmissibility law and the Jaskirat Sidhu case. As a permanent resident convicted of a serious crime, Jaskirat Sidhu is subject to deportation to India after he serves his eight-year sentence for the Humboldt Bus Crash. Instead, Sidhu hopes to stay in Canada and has pleaded his case to the Canadian Border Services Agency. What evidence should be put forward when asking for this type of exemption? Cathryn, Chantal, and Raj breakdown the current status of this case and discuss the following factors:

Double Jeopardy
Section 44 of the IRPA
Media Coverage and Discretion
Duties of Sidhu’s employers

In this episode’s segment of “What I Wish I Knew,” Chantal and Cathryn discuss the importance of building relationships and getting to the stage in your legal career when bringing in the business becomes your responsibility.
Other topics include:

The intersection between immigration law, criminal law, and foreign law.
Polarization of criminal inadmissibility cases.
The value of providing and receiving mentorship.
The importance of referrals.

Special Guest: Raj Sharma is a founding partner of the Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm in Calgary and author of Inadmissibility and Remedies.
Explicit content rating due to coarse language.