September 19, 2011

2012 CBA National Immigration Law Conference – Delta Grand Okanagan, Kelowna – May 3 to 5

I look forward to another challenging year working on behalf of the Canadian and Ontario Bar Associations respectively.  I assume the National Treasurer’s portfolio this year and provincially I will continue in my role as Public Affairs Liaison.  We have begun our preparations for Our National Education Conference and look forward to your participation.  Here is our message from our National Chair Joshua Sohn:

Dear Members,

The 2012National Immigration Law Conference will be held at the Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel in Kelowna, British Columbia on May 3 to 5, 2012.  Mark your calendars!

We are already in the process of planning the agenda and would like your input. While we have made good use of your comments from last year’s Conference in Lac Leamy, our objective is to continually improve our program.

There will be much to review in Kelowna, as IRPA is about to turn 10-years-old.   There have been many significant changes over this past decade and IRPA continues to be amended and shaped both through legislative reform and case law.  This will certainly be a major focus of the conference.   We will again have a variety of working sessions along with plenaries to showcase larger issues.  There will be a focus on hot button issues including the new foreign worker guidelines and refugee reform, and a review of recent court decisions.  We intend to address a wide range of topics and areas of practice such as work permits,  protected persons, PNPs, residency tests for citizenship and permanent residence, business categories i.e. changes to investor category, family law and immigration, Quebec selection, in Canada applications, inadmissibility concerns, Federal skilled workers including Ministerial instructions, IAD and more.

At this stage of the planning, the Agenda Committee would like to hear from you on two key aspects:

1. As to topics, please tell us if we have missed something important, or if there is something unique you’d like to see added to the conference.
2. As to panelists, please tell us confidentially about any past speakers you would like to see again next year (or would prefer never to see again).

You may also provide suggestions for new speakers by indicating the topic or area you feel they would appropriately address.

Please send all comments and suggestions directly to the Agenda Committee Co-Chairs, Mario Bellissimo mdb@bellissimolawgroup.com and Kyle Hyndman kyle@mccrealaw.ca .

We will respect your confidentiality, so please be frank with your comments.

The deadline for your comments and suggestions is next Wednesday, September 21, 2011 by 5:00 pm (PT).

We look forward to your comments,

Mario Bellissimo and Kyle Hyndman

Agenda Committee Co-chairs
mdb@bellissimolawgroup.com
kyle@mccrealaw.ca

Joshua Sohn 

Chair, CBA National Immigration Law Section
joshua@elgcanada.com