Law Times

PAGE 2 NEWS New rules raising questions about mobility rights Quebec puts up hurdles for Ontario immigration lawyers O BY MICHAEL McKIERNAN Law Times ntario immigration lawyers are question- ing the recently signed Quebec Mobility Agreement as a crackdown on rogue immi- gration consultants in Quebec threatens to restrict their ability to practise there. The Quebec government has released a draft regulation that will allow only recognized im- migration consultants to file cer- tain immigration applications in there. The regulation closes a loophole that allowed almost anybody to present themselves as an immigration consultant. The change would exempt members of the Barreau du Qué- bec or the Chambre des notaires du Québec, but that leaves out- of-province lawyers like Michael Niren in a no man's land. Despite being based in To- ronto and without any knowl- edge of French, Niren, a lawyer with Niren & Associates, says he helps clients wishing to emigrate to Quebec. "We have been repre- senting Quebec-bound clients for many years without any problems Correction A March 29 article, "Tribunal decision challenges regulations," incorrectly identified the company involved in a 2006 environ- mental spill. The company involved was UBA Inc. Detox Envi- ronmental Ltd., the company identified in the story, had noth- ing to do with the spill. Further, it does not haul biomedical waste and has always provided the financial assurance required by the provincial government for dealing with PCB waste. Law Times apologizes for the errors. whatsoever. Like any area of law, you have to familiarize yourself with the body of law that's appli- cable to the jurisdiction." Niren is worried about the uncertainty the new regulation creates for lawyers like him who operate only occasionally in Que- bec. "I think the intentions are good in terms of tightening up the rules on immigration consultants but I think they're casting the net too wide. If you're a licensed law- yer in another province, especially when you have extensive experi- ence handling Quebec cases, you shouldn't be excluded and have to apply for special privileges to represent clients you've been rep- resenting for years." Stephen Green, chairman of the Canadian Bar Association's citizenship and immigration law section, agrees the reason- ing behind the regulation is sound but questions how it fits with Canada's labour mobility regime for lawyers. Michael Niren says he's been helping Quebec-bound immi- gration clients for years. "They have the right to regu- late in their own province; every- body does," he says. "They are doing it to protect the public. But we have mobility rights in the rest of Canada that are more ex- panded than in Quebec. I think the barreau needs to look at it because this is a mobility issue." Diamonds are a lawyer's best friend The CBA expects to prepare a submission on the issue soon, setting out its official views on the matter. Under the National Mobility Agreement, Ontario lawyers can practise occasionally in other sig- natory provinces without a per- mit as long as they do so for less than 100 days in a calendar year. The recently signed Quebec Mo- bility Agreement was hailed by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada as a major step forward but it doesn't address temporary practice without a permit. As part of the agreement, the Law Society of Upper Canada is creating a new L3 licence de- signed to mirror a similar desig- nation created by the barreau in 2008 that allows out-of-province lawyers to practise in Quebec as Canadian legal advisers without taking additional courses in civil law. But they're largely restricted to dealing with federal matters and legal issues relating to their home jurisdiction. Although im- migration law normally falls un- der federal jurisdiction, Quebec still has a say over those matters, so it's unclear whether Canadian legal advisers could represent clients there. The barreau didn't respond to requests for clarifica- tion. Green fears lawyers will now have to apply to the barreau for a special authorization permit on a case-by-case basis, a process he says will add another level of bureaucracy and cost for Ontario lawyers. The permit costs $100 and takes 10 days to process. "Let's say you're a large compa- You don't need to search through mountains of irrelevant decisions in our online services. Select decisions chosen by experts are denoted with a to help you quickly identify the best decisions first. Then you can consider the rest of your search results. Diamond decisions are available in the following Canada Law Book online services: • BestCase • Canadian Employment Law (Ball) • Canadian Patent Reporter online • Criminal Pleadings & Practice (Ewaschuk) • Criminal Spectrum • Dominion Law Reports online • Labour Spectrum For product details and pricing information visit www.canadalawbook.ca Law Report_Diamond (LT 1-2x4).indd 1 www.lawtimesnews.com 4/13/10 3:57:34 PM ny and you're applying for seven work permits. Do we have to pay seven times?" he asks. "These can be important corporate clients, so you don't want to lose them." But what's particularly frus- trating for Green is that Que- bec lawyers working on an oc- casional basis in Ontario don't face the same hurdles. Law so- ciety spokeswoman Jane Withey notes that because Quebec failed to fully implement the National Mobility Agreement, the LSUC still allows Quebec lawyers to practise temporarily in Ontario without a permit under the so- called "10-20-12" rule. "They can work on 10 mat- ters for no more than 20 days in a 12-month period," she says. "But if they want to set up shop, they'd have to apply for the L3 licence under the new mobility agreement, which means they have to be a member of good standing in Quebec and they pay insurance in Quebec." John Campion, president the of federation, says that while he's not familiar with the changes in Quebec, he's hop- ing for a solution. "I think we've made a major effort to reduce major impedi- ments, but there's always going to be some glitches," he says. "If it turns out a lot of people are going to be affected, then we will find a way to help them. Wherever pos- sible, we want mobility." LT April 19, 2010 • lAw Times

• Cover
• Restricted Mobility
• Paying The Piper
• Focus On ADR/Mediation