{"id":9647,"date":"2022-11-21T11:54:07","date_gmt":"2022-11-21T19:54:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/heronlaw.ca\/what-does-mandamus-mean-anyway\/"},"modified":"2022-11-21T11:54:07","modified_gmt":"2022-11-21T19:54:07","slug":"what-does-mandamus-mean-anyway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/heronlaw.ca\/zh-hans\/what-does-mandamus-mean-anyway\/","title":{"rendered":"What Does \u201cMandamus\u201d Mean Anyway?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This boring-sounding Latin word can be a last-resort tool to finally get a decision on your immigration application<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By: Jessye Kilburn, Canadian Immigration and Refugee Lawyer & Former Federal Court Clerk<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mandamus is a hot topic<\/a> in this era of historically long immigration delays. It\u2019s also a big Latin word that many lawyers have a hard time explaining without using convoluted \u201clegalese\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLegalese\u201d (the formal language of the legal profession) has its uses \u2013 for example, in court documents. But sometimes lawyers love it a little too much. (Alas, there are even t-shirts<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I\u2019m here on the blog today to try to explain mandamus without too much lawyer talk. Wish me luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Image from: https:\/\/thesaurus.plus\/synonyms\/mandamus<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s say you applied for permanent residence 3 years ago, and you\u2019ve been asking IRCC for updates ever since, to no avail. You\u2019ve done access to information requests, and you\u2019ve asked a local Member of Parliament to inquire about your case, but you have no idea why IRCC has been delaying so long. Maybe you know people who applied after you and have already been approved. What else can you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If IRCC is taking an unreasonably long time to decide your immigration case, you can ask the Federal Court to order IRCC to make a decision. This is called applying for \u201cmandamus\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mandamus means \u201cwe command\u201d in Latin. Essentially, when you request mandamus, you are asking the court to \u201ccommand\u201d the decision-maker to hurry up and make their decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Federal Court judge likely won’t decide the case for IRCC and will very rarely grant or refuse your immigration application (for a very exceptional circumstance see:  https:\/\/canlii.ca\/t\/g6hpg<\/a>) . But the judge can tell IRCC that it has been too long and that IRCC needs to make a decision one way or the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applying for mandamus is a last-resort option \u2013 it\u2019s not something you can do to get faster processing from the outset or to \u201cleapfrog\u201d ahead of other applicants. But sometimes, unreasonably long delays can leave you no choice but to ask the court to step in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Side note: While I am using the example of a permanent residence application as an illustration, mandamus can be used with other kinds of immigration or refugee applications, including study permits, work permits, citizenship applications, or cases at the Immigration and Refugee Board. The length of time considered an \u201cunreasonable delay\u201d will vary depending on the kind of case.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the procedure?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Heron Law Offices works with clients on mandamus applications, we start out by sending a letter to IRCC letting them know that we intend to apply for mandamus and giving them one last chance to respond or make a decision. This is called a \u201cdemand letter\u201d, and the goal of it is to either convince IRCC to speed up, or to use it in court down the road to show the judge that we have done everything we could to request a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If IRCC does nothing, the next step is the Federal Court process, which has several stages (similar to a typical judicial review application):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. First, we submit an \u201cApplication for Leave and Judicial Review\u201d to the court. At this point, we make our basic arguments, but we don\u2019t have to file our evidence yet.<\/li>
  2. The government then has to respond to let the Court know whether they have made a decision. This is called the \u201cRule 9 Reasons\u201d.<\/li>
  3. After we get the Rule 9 Reasons, we have 30 days to file our arguments and evidence (subject to mode of delivery of the Rule 9 Reasons)<\/li>
  4. The government lawyers have 30 days to respond to us.<\/li>
  5. Then, we have 10 days to reply to the government\u2019s arguments. (** Sometimes, at this point (or even before), the government and their lawyers will decide to \u201cconsent\u201d, which means they don\u2019t want to fight the case and they will agree to make a decision within a reasonable time. If they don\u2019t consent, then the court process continues<\/em>)<\/li>
  6. Next, the case goes to a judge, who decides whether it\u2019s strong enough to schedule a hearing where the lawyers make arguments to the judge over video or in person. This is called \u201cgranting leave\u201d.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n