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The Complete Guide to Canadian Refugee Law 2023

  • When

Live webinar

  • Instructors

Chantal Desloges and David Matas

  • Duration

5 hours

This course is no longer for sale but we have an updated version!

This course ran in February 2023 and the recording is no longer available. A current course covers the same ground.

Representing Clients in Refugee Claims 2025

Summary

This course provides an in-depth overview of Canada’s refugee protection system, encompassing both Convention refugee claims and claims made by persons in need of protection. The eligibility to make a claim will be discussed as well as exclusion provisions. Our instructor will present strategic considerations to keep in mind from the time that a claim is being planned to the when it is made, as well as practical tips involving the preparation of the Basis of Claims, collecting and disclosing evidence, preparing clients and witnesses, as well as attending at the refugee hearing. Various ethical considerations involved in representing refugee claimants will also be discussed.

Course outline

  • Overseas refugees vs. inland refugee claims
  • Eligibility to make a claim
  • Strategic considerations before making a claim
  • Making a claim at the port of entry
  • Making a claim inside Canada
  • The legal test for Convention refugees
  • The legal test for protected persons
  • Exclusion clauses
  • The Basis of Claim form
  • Collecting and disclosing evidence
  • Preparing your client and witnesses
  • The refugee hearing
  • The decision
  • Alternative applications
See Full Course Outline

CPD credits as accredited in 2023

For Lawyers and Paralegals

Law Society of Ontario

  • Substantive Hours: This program is eligible for up to 4 hours
  • Professionalism Hours: this program contains 1 hour of Professionalism Content

Law Society of British Columbia

  • Approved for 5 CPD credits

Law Societies of Alberta, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia

  • For members of these Law Societies, consider including this course as a CPD learning activity in your mandatory annual requirements

For Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants

College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants

  • Approved for 5 CPD hours, including 1 hour of professionalism/ethics
  • Video recording valid until February 16, 2024

Your Instructor

Chantal Desloges

Barrister & Solicitor – Certified Specialist

Senior Partner, Desloges Law Group

Chantal Desloges is certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in both Citizenship/Immigration law and Refugee law. Her practice encompasses every possible area of Canadian citizenship, immigration and refugee law, such as business class applications, skilled workers, family sponsorships, work and study permits, refugee cases, citizenship applications, plus Appeals and Judicial Reviews of refused cases. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 1999 and is the founding and senior partner of Desloges Law Group.

Chantal taught Immigration Law at Osgoode Hall Law School in 2000/2001. She also taught in the Immigration Practitioner Certificate Programme at Seneca College from 1999 – 2010 and the Immigration Consultant Diploma at Herzing College from 2015 – 2018. She currently teaches a number of continuing professional development programs for LPEN, IMEDA and the Ontario Bar Association, among others.

In November, 2016, Chantal and her good friend Cathryn Sawicki published the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law: A Practitioner’s Handbook. Chantal has been called upon 15 times by Parliamentary and Senate Committees to appear as an expert witness on immigration and refugee issues.

In 2012, Chantal was awarded the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, followed by the Canadian Bar Association Young Lawyers’ Pro Bono award. In 2013, Chantal was appointed by the Minister of Justice to serve on the Federal Court Rules Committee, and was reappointed for a further term in 2016. In 2014, Chantal was also elected to the Executive of the Canadian Bar Association, Immigration Section, where she served until 2018.

Chantal is a regular immigration commentator on CTV Power Play, and has been interviewed by both national and local television stations such as CBC, CTV National News, W5, Canada AM, Global News and CP24. She has also been interviewed and quoted in national and local newspapers such as the Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Globe and Mail, National Post and the Ottawa Citizen.