Bill C-12 has rewritten Canada’s refugee eligibility rules — this course shows you what changed and what to do about it.
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Chantal Desloges
June 2, 2026 at 12:00pm EST
$90
3 hours
Attend Live Online and On-Demand Recording
Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, represents the most significant overhaul of Canada’s refugee determination system since the early 2000s. Passed by the House of Commons in December 2025 and currently before the Senate, the Act introduces two new categorical ineligibility rules — the one-year rule and the 14-day rule — that remove access to the Immigration and Refugee Board for a broad class of claimants and redirect them to the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment process. The legislation also grants Cabinet sweeping new powers to cancel, suspend, or vary immigration documents on a mass basis. This course provides immigration lawyers and consultants with a detailed, legally grounded analysis of the amendments, their impact on clients across claimant categories, and the strategic options available under the new framework.
• Course objectives and overview
• Bill C-12 introduced October 3, 2025; passed the House December 23, 2025 after six-week committee study; currently before the Senate
• Government’s stated rationale: relieving IRB backlog, deterring asylum system misuse, responding to irregular border crossings
• Key resources: LEGISinfo (parl.ca), IRCC CIMM briefing (canada.ca), Charter Statement (Department of Justice), CBA Immigration Law Section submission
• The one-year rule: asylum claims made more than one year after first entry into Canada (post June 24, 2020); applies to all temporary residents regardless of status or subsequent travel
• The 14-day rule: irregular entrants from the United States who claim more than 14 days after entry between ports of entry
• Effect: claim not referred to the IRB; claimant redirected to PRRA; most exposed groups: international students, TFWs, visitors who delay; irregular US entrants
• CBA critique: one-year clock starts from first entry (not most recent); replaces individualized assessment with categorical bar; raises Charter concerns
• “Scheduling-ready” requirement: only complete, verified files referred to the IRB; IRCC and CBSA may fully review claims before referral
• Single standardized online application with prescribed timelines; replaces multiple forms and interviews
• IRB loses jurisdiction when claimant is no longer in Canada; removal orders effective same day a claim is withdrawn; designated representatives clarified for minors and vulnerable claimants
• Cabinet (Governor in Council) may mass cancel, suspend, or vary immigration documents; stop accepting new applications for any document class
• Envisioned uses: national security, public health emergencies, surges; cannot block asylum access or affect status; Cabinet oversight required
• HR implications: employers must immediately verify right-to-work if a Cabinet Order affects a class of work permits; continued employment without valid authorization creates IRPA liability
• Practical advice: monitoring protocols, rapid-response checklists, referral pathways to immigration counsel
• IRPA ss. 100–101 before and after: delay alone previously could not bar access to the RPD; new categorical ineligibilities change this fundamentally
• Inland vs. port-of-entry claims; impact by claimant type; interaction with Safe Third Country Agreement; winners and losers under the new framework
• Previously removed or out-of-status individuals; late claimant considerations; document cancellation scenarios
• Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA): preserved for both ineligibility groups; paper-based, assessed by IRCC officer; stays removal if filed within regulatory timelines; historically far lower approval rate than RPD — evidence quality is critical
• Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) applications (IRPA s. 25): does not automatically stay removal; processing 2+ years; can run concurrently with PRRA
• Federal Court judicial review; urgent stays of removal; strategic advice: identify ineligibility at first consultation, begin PRRA strategy immediately, refer to immigration counsel
• Scenario A — International student in Canada since 2022, claiming in 2026: one-year rule applies; pathway is PRRA
• Scenario B — Irregular US entrant who waited 20 days to claim: 14-day rule applies; PRRA pathway; interaction with Safe Third Country Agreement
• Scenario C — Visitor who filed within three months of entry: neither rule applies; eligible for IRB referral subject to scheduling-ready requirements
• HR practitioner obligations; when to refer to immigration counsel; documenting affected employees’ status under C-12
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Chantal Desloges
Law Firm Principal/Senior Lawyer
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.
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LPEN seeks accreditation for each course from the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC) and the Law Society of Ontario (LSO),the Law Society of BC (LSBC) when applicable. Accreditation details and approved CPD hours are listed in the CPD Credits section on each course page, so you can easily confirm how the course qualifies toward your professional development requirements.
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