Pivot Legal

On Thursday night, I had the amazing honour of participating as a finalist in the 2nd annual Social Enterprise Dragons contest. I was there to pitch our law firm, which directs 100% of its profits to Pivot’s social change campaigns to apanel of “dragons” who were leading CEOs and executive directors from around Vancouver.

I am so excited that our law firm as been selected as a finalist in the Social Enterprise Dragons Den event on April 22, 2010!

For more information, please check out the interview that is posted here! 

Link to: Complaint

Link to: Affidavit of Tristan Markle

Link to: Backgounder

The UBC Alma Mater Society (AMS), represented by Pivot Legal LLP, has filed a complaint to the United Nations regarding the federal and provincial government’s failure to meet their international obligations to provide accessible post-secondary education.

Hi, welcome to my first blog on the Pivot Legal LLP website! I thought I’d start by quickly describing why I decided to join Pivot Legal LLP. The main reason was because of the social responsibility that is part of Pivot’s mandate. I strongly support Pivot’s compassion for all clients and community members. Community engagement and integration with all aspects of our society are consistent with my core values and I feel very fortunate to be working with people who are dedicated and energized.

What's this, a blog post?  

The appeal of the landmark right to shelter decision Adams v. Victoria is set to be heard next week from June 10-12. 

Family reunification is a central component of Canada's immigration laws. Among other things, this is a recognition by Canadian society that a new resident to Canada has a valuable network that extends beyond his or her direct economic boost to the marketplace.

I hope you will find it useful and informative.  We here at Pivot strive to make the law accessible to everyone because we know what a difference it makes to have an advocate on your side.  All of us here at Pivot care deeply about social justice and equality, and we will do our very best to help you with your legal problem.  The for-profit work done by Pivot LLP lawyers helps to support the campaign work done by Pivot Legal Society - like the housing campaign that I work on - so you can feel good about the fact that by engaging a Pivot LLP lawye

The idea for Pivot Legal Society came to me in the summer of 2000. I had been working at Ecojustice and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee, which are both located right next to Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. I had a long-running interest in the issues of the neighborhood and it was easy to see that there were huge problems simply by walking down the streets. In my view they were systemic problems, created by bad laws and policies.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada currently offers several different immigration programs, each geared towards a particular policy aim. These have widely varying requirements, whether in terms of place of application; length of processing; establishment funds; relationships to Canadian citizens and existing permanent residents, etc.

Canadian immigration policy has established itself as an important mechanism to address the needs of the economy. As recent news articles illustrate, the fallout from such programs has not always been positive. Nevertheless, when properly implemented, temporary immigration initiatives possess great potential to benefit all parties involved - employee, employer, and the Canadian economy included.

Often described as one of the 'cornerstones' of Canadian immigration policy, 'family reunification' is a well-known aim of the immigration system in Canada, and has been widely implemented in various programs and policy initiatives under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act ('IRPA') and its Regulations.

In a previous installment, I discussed the differential impact of a criminal record on the status of permanent residents and Canadian citizens. Another area where practical differences exist between citizenship and permanent residence is 'residency restrictions' - I use this term to refer to the various consequences of being outside of Canada for a person's status.

Many people are aware that there are at least some differences between Permanent Residents and Citizens under Canadian law - differences, at least, that go beyond the merely cosmetic or ceremonial. For example, it is commonly understood that citizens have the right to vote at Federal and Provincial elections, while permanent residents do not.