Law Times

Page 12 June 12, 2017 • Law Times www.lawtimesnews.com Coalition helps people hurt by travel ban BY GABRIELLE GIRODAY Law Times A fter U.S. President Donald Trump im- plemented a travel ban that caught people off guard earlier this year, Canadian lawyers quickly built a network to help out those affected. The Canadian Cross-Border Legal Coalition was established earlier this year after Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Ad- missions Program for 120 days, stopping nationals from Yemen, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iran and Iraq from going into the U.S. for 90 days. The ban meant massive legal wrangling south of the border, which is still ongoing. It also led to protests across North America and confu- sion for travellers impacted by the ban, including some who weren't able to return to the United States. Meanwhile, Canadian law- yers jumped into action to help — including volunteering at the airport to speak with people dis- turbed by the ban. Corey Shefman, an associ- ate at Olthuis Kleer Townshend LLP and Toronto co-ordinator for the Canadian Cross-Border Legal Coalition, says a wide var- iety of lawyers volunteered in re- sponse to the ban. "The people who came out to Pearson [International Airport] were all just run-of-the-mill law- yers; volunteers from every cor- ner of the legal community," says Shefman. More than 300 lawyers from Toronto were involved, he says, both at the airport and offsite. "For about two-and-a-half weeks, we had lawyers at the airport from 4 a.m. until about 10 p.m., which is the entire time that U.S. pre-clearance was open, lawyers at both terminals, anywhere from two to six at a time," he says. Other lawyers helped with research and information- gathering or produced assis- tance documents that were pro- vided to travellers, he says. The coalition is made up of partners including the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, the Refugee Hub, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the British Columbia Civil Lib- erties Association, as well as law- yers and law students. In January and February, vol- unteers went to airports in Van- couver, Toronto, Ottawa, Mont- real and Halifax to help, as well as to the land border in Windsor. "[I] think it's because we saw what was happening and we saw how people were being treated, and it was simply not in keep- ing with very basic, fundamen- tal Canadian values that we can all agree on," he adds. "We may differ in our politics, but I think most Canadians, and certain- ly most Canadian lawyers, can agree on the fundamental prin- ciples of equality." Volunteer efforts included the work by lawyers at airports and, after the emergency nature of the ban subsided, it continued with evidence-gathering and ac- tive outreach to figure out who was affected by the ban. "We still think it's really im- portant to make sure that people . . . who have been affected get the redress they need, and that they also get connected into broader policy advocacy on this import- ant issue," says Erin Simpson, a Toronto immigration and refu- gee lawyer. Simpson has been re- tained on behalf of the coalition to gather information to support U.S. litigation fighting the exec- utive orders and look at the links between the executive orders and existing Canadian law. "We're also trying to look at [if ] there is any implication for Canadian law from these exec- utive orders, given how inter- twined our refugee determina- tion systems end up being at the border," she says. She's also work- ing to connect people hurt by the ban with legal help in the United States, as the second phase of the coalition's work gears up. "Phase one was this response at the airports, and phase two is about making sure that people [who] were affected or may still be affected are getting access to legal advice so we can connect people, in many cases, with free legal assistance in the United States," says Simpson. "[W]e're making sure that their stories are getting out there and that we're transferring those to organizations monitoring the situation, so [we can discover] if there's any trend to be discerned from what's been happening to people." The hope is that lawyers who were involved in phase one will be mobilized to reach out to people in their communities im- pacted by the ban, says Simpson. Shefman says the volunteer ef- fort by lawyers shows how mem- bers of the profession are motiv- ated to achieve justice. "We were happy to be able to help a number of people who we encountered at the airport who were stranded because of Trump's travel ban, and our presence there had a very real impact on their lives and on their comfort," he says. "Going forward I think this experience has shown that the legal community can mobilize if the situation arises, if the need arises. I think it shows that we can work outside the traditional power structures and outside of the traditional infrastructure." LT FOCUS Corey Shefman says there was 'an impromptu movement' of lawyers who volunteered after a travel ban was put in place in early 2017 on travellers to the United States. [W]e're making sure that their stories are getting out there and that we're transferring those to organizations monitoring the situation . . . Erin Simpson Tell us which legal vendors and service providers are the best at what they do. Vote and you could win a $100 Amazon.ca gift card. 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