We take our catchphrase “Lawyers for Migrant Communities” very seriously. One of our Firm mottos is to do law differently and for the public good. What this means is sharing our knowledge, experiences, data sets, and policy advice with others and by presenting whenever, and wherever we can.
Our Firm is in the midst of a “Speaker’s Tour” and have spoken/will speak at the following talks:
October 7th – Harmit Sarai and Will Tao, MOSAIC, Topic: Pathways to PR for International Students
October 20th – Will Tao (with Dani Willetts and Dave Sage), IMEDA, Topic: International Students: Entering and Staying in Canada
October 21st – Will Tao, Ottawa Immigration Conference, Topic: A Closer Look at Chinook and the Refusal Notes Generator
October 26th – Will Tao, University of Calgary, Pro-Bono Students Canada, Public Interest Law Panel
October 28th – Candy Hui and Will Tao (with Lou Janssen Dangzalan, Scott Smith, and IRCC), CAPIC Conference, How Are Chinook, AI, and Machine-Based Learning Impacting Our International Student Practices?
November 4th – Angela Harris, Continuing Legal Education British Columbia (CLEBC), Work Options for Students: Post-Graduate Work Permits and Co-Op Work Permits
November 9th – Harmit Sarai, Carleton University: Centre for Security, Intelligence and Defense Studies, Border Talk: A Virtual Panel on the Negative Impacts of the COVID-19 Border Closure
November 15th – Will Tao (with Jean Lomas), Canadian Bureau of International Education (“CBIE”), Study Permit Refusals: Dissecting Advisor and Lawyer Approaches
Through these talks, we have done a lot of deep diving into the issues that impact international students. We have also come to recognize some of the major gaps, access to justice issues, and areas for potential growth. We will be taking this knowledge and improving not on our services, but creating new accessible modes to improve the delivery of legal services. More on this to come.
Chinook Toolkit Resource
We wanted to also share with you a resource that was shared with the Ottawa Immigration Conference talk. Ottawa, the city where Will Tao went to law school, has been extremely generous in sharing the materials provided by speakers and opening up the conference to the general public. The website to access these presentation is here.
If you want the direct link to our Chinook Toolkit, the link for this is here.
