Your goal is draft an H&C submission letter (addressed to the correct address) and application based on the fact situation below. The grading is based on how well you demonstrate knowledge of the relevant legislation, regulatory provisions, and current jurisprudence that supports your request.

Instructions

Read the fact situation regarding your client then determine the purpose, material facts, issues, and relevant law pertinent to the case. Next, develop and implement a strategy to advocate for your client, who is faced with potential criminal inadmissibility. Make sure you demonstrate an understanding of the applicable fees, necessary forms, and supporting documents required for a H&C application. Finally, prepare and submit a complete application following the instructions below.

Criteria

This assignment comes in three parts: a submission letter, IRCC forms, and an enclosures list. For this case, marks are assigned to each of the following categories:

• Draft a legal submission in letter form using correct spelling and grammar.
• Include an enclosures list with the names of the documents you deem relevant to the case
• Prepare your client’s application, including all the IRCC forms required .
• Proof your submission for accuracy, completeness, spelling and grammar

For the submission letter

Your submission letter needs to address all of the issues relevant to the case. It must demonstrate an understanding of the relevant legislation, regulations, IRCC manuals, IRCC website information, and case law. It should speak to establishment, hardship, and the best interest of the child as well as any other issue you consider relevant. Just don’t forget to sign it at the end.

Moreover, do NOT simply cut and paste all the material into one document. Tribunals expect you to indicate which facts are relevant and important to a case as well as synthesize the information into a logical argument.

The submission letter should follow this order:

Letterhead

Date

[correct IRCC address]

Dear [NAME]

Re: [??]

Introduction

Submissions on humanitarian and compassionate factors, using case law, legislation and policy where relevant. All relevant issues must be addressed. Establishment, Hardship and Best Interest of the Child must be addressed. Use headings to organize the information.

Signature

For the IRCC forms

Fill out all the IRCC forms necessary to complete an H&C application. This is a test of your ability to independently identify and select the correct forms as well as fill them out completely and accurately. No direction will be given on which forms to include.

For the enclosures list

Prepare a comprehensive list of the documents you need to support the client’s application. For each document indicate the name, date, type of document, and a one paragraph summary of its contents. This list should include documents you ask the client to collect as well as any documents your research might yield (such as country condition). You are NOT required to draft entire samples other than the IRCC forms.

The Case

Nicole Newman was born on March 14, 1978, in Venezuela. In 1991, she moved to Canada with her parents. She subsequently became a permanent resident and then a Canadian citizen.

On September 12, 2004, Nicole married Victor Newman, who is a citizen of Venezuela. Victor was born on August 22, 1974. The ceremony took place in Maracay.

Nicole’s application to sponsor Victor was refused by a visa officer in 2017, pursuant to section 36(1)(b) of IRPA due to criminal convictions registered against Victor in Venezuela.

The following is a summary of Victor’s convictions:

The first three offences, if committed in Canada, would have carried a maximum sentence under the Criminal Code, of 14 years in prison, while the most recent offence is not an offence under any law of Canada.

According to Victor, the 1993 convictions related to the bombing of a tavern. He was an impetuous young man and, at that time, was more often than not high on marijuana. He and some friends were kicked out of the bar for being drunk. As “revenge,” his friends decided to bomb the tavern. The bomb went off prematurely, before patrons could be warned, as a result of which several people were seriously injured. Victor claims that, because he was afraid that his violent friends would harm his family, he took no steps to warn the authorities. However, at his trial, the court accepted evidence that implicated him in the planning and execution of the bombing. On his lawyer’s advice, Victor entered a guilty plea. However, to this day, he denies involvement. He claims he pled guilty pursuant to a plea bargain arrangement where it was agreed that he would only have to serve four years of his eight year sentence. That is exactly what happened.

Victor also pled guilty to the 2005 blackmail charge. He has explained that he was doing a favour for his employer in picking up money from a customer, not knowing that the money was being paid as “protection money” as part of a scheme to blackmail the customer. Again, on the advice of his lawyer, Victor did not fight the charge. He claims that he had been in pre-trial custody for just over a year and had been told that his sentence would be much greater if he went to trial and was convicted. He decided not to take a chance.

While in prison in 2009, Victor was charged with possession of potatoes greater than the legal limit. In Venezuela at that time, there was a shortage of potatoes, as a result of which the government imposed strict limits on how much one could possess. Thinking that he could make a lot of money, Victor horded potatoes in prison and arranged to have them smuggled out and sold on the black market. He pled guilty in exchange for other more serious charges, such as criminal conspiracy, being dropped. He was released early in 2010.

Victor and Nicole met in 1998, while Nicole was visiting family in Venezuela. They corresponded and saw each other over the years, and got married on September 12, 2004, just before Victor was arrested on the blackmail charge. Nicole was aware of Victor’s criminal past before she married him. Once Victor was arrested and it became clear that he would be behind bars for a number of years, Nicole returned to her home in Canada, but she continued to see Victor on conjugal visits in the prison.

On one of the conjugal visits, Nicole became pregnant. Their son, Jack Abbott Newman, was born in Toronto on June 8, 2009. Nicole and Jackie have lived in Canada since that time.

While he was in prison, Victor came under the influence of some political activists who are avid opponents of current President Nicolas Maduro. Victor is concerned that his name is known to Maduro’s supporters who routinely round up his opponents and throw them in jail or cause them physical harm or worse.

After being released from prison, Victor came to Canada as a visitor in 2012. He has been in Canada since that time. Prior to his visitor’s status expiring, Victor applied for an extension. Due to an IRCC administrative problem, the application has not yet been dealt with and, therefore, Victor has remained in Canada.

Nicole has a sister (Grace Cabrera) and a brother (Juan Guzman) living in the Greater Toronto Area, and her mother (Carmelita Popas) resides in a nursing home in the area as well. Her father (Don Carlos Popas) passed away some years ago. Nicole is a partner in a retail store (Nicole’s NickNacks) in Vaughan, Ontario, which she manages. It is quite successful. In 2009, after Jackie was born, Nicole purchased a condominium apartment which has a current value of over $700,000, with a mortgage of about $200,000. The address is 8040 Bathurst Street, Apt. 2107, Vaughan, Ontario. This is where she and Victor currently reside.

Victor’s parents, Gerhard and Angela Newman, were both born in Austria and came to Venezuela to escape the Nazis before World War II. They are both deceased. Victor’s brothers (Miguel and Altuve) and his sister (Sofia) all live in Venezuela but have had nothing to do with him in over twenty years.

While in prison, Victor became trained as a cosmetician. His only job in this field was at Fenmores Salon in Caracas, where he worked after his release from prison until he came to Canada. From 1997 to 2005, Victor worked in security in Caracas for Tio Duro LLC. The absence of a work permit prevents Victor from working in Canada, but he receives a small disability pension from the Venezuela government due to the injuries he suffered in the 1993 explosion. From time to time, he helps Nicole out in her store, but does not get paid. Victor spends a considerable amount of his time volunteering in community organizations, where he performs as a clown at children’s hospitals and works on other projects such as keeping the works with is Veahavta, 200 Bridgland Avenue, Toronto. There are a number of individuals in the community who are willing to step forward and write letters of reference, attesting to his character and community work.

Nicole has confirmed that, if she had to, she could sell her interest in her business. However, she obviously does not want to. The genuineness of the marriage between Nicole and Victor is not in question. Although Victor and Nicole both speak Spanish (the main language in Venezuela), their son does not.

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