Canadian Lawyer

w w w . c a n a d i a n l a w y e r m a g . c o m S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 8 43 loan and receive permanent residency, a practice critics cast as essentially purchasing citizenship. In 2015, the Conservative government also made reforms to the temporary foreign worker program, after lawmakers were moved by scandals over the mistreatment of migrant workers and concerns about the Canadian unemployed, heightened by the toll on Alberta from the steep drop in oil prices. Caruso says the investor program had "integrity issues" and understands the government's reservations, but she says it doesn't mean Canada should abandon entrepreneurs and busi- ness immigrants altogether. With the approaching exodus of baby boomers from the workforce, a great number of businesses will need new leaders. "We have something like a trillion dollars worth of small businesses in Canada that will need to transfer to new ownership in the next decade," she says. "One way to deal with it to address it would be to have a federal business program that addressed and facilitated entre- preneurs and business immigrants, so I defi- nitely see that there is a gap there." Corporate Immigration Law Firm has clients ranging from mining and chemical companies to entertainers and models and from engineering, construction and automotive manufacturing to restaurants and management consulting firms. Caruso just welcomed Joel Guberman and Lainie Appleby of Deloitte's Guberman Garson LLP. With 60 years of combined experience, Caruso is excited for the addition. Immigration is one of the defining aspects of the Trump ascendency and now, as president, his policies, such as the renegotiation of NAFTA and strict border control, are creating space for Canada to grow, say Evan and Stephen Green, senior partners at Green and Spiegel. "Canada, right now, [has] a very unique opportunity, given the fact that things are so negative south of the border," says Evan. "This is a unique time and a unique opportunity for Canada to expand its multi-national business base." For the Toronto firm that's been practising immigration law since 1962, the Greens say the Trump administration's policies and the fear among corporations about their ability to get their people into the United States has created a boon for Canadian immigration lawyers. Apart from the nasty side, where Green says the firm is see- ing a lot of "really negative and erroneous things happening at the border," new, stringent U.S. policy is bouncing business up to Canada. Companies are "near-shoring," using Canada as a base to position their employees for their concerns south of the 49th. "As a result of that, now, our firm has had exceptional growth," Green says. "I always joke if you see this middleaged white guy at a Donald Trump rally — me — yelling 'Four more years!' it's because business has never been better." Avi Gomberg, partner at Gomberg Dalfen S.E.N.C., is seeing a lot of business from near-shoring at his Montreal boutique. Gomberg Dalfen consists of five lawyers, five paralegals and one legal assistant. Like Caruso, Gomberg spent his early years at a large firm and says the boutique treatment involved more "personalized, one-on-one service." "So, it's not a assembly-line, crazy-volume practice. There are some practices out there that are set up" that way, he says. High-skilled professionals from India, China and Iran espe- cially, many of whom have been educated in the United States, who either cannot get in or their work status is coming to an end are turning to Canada, Gomberg says. "There's more work for us. I mean, I find it a little sad, because these are excellent people," he says. "It's good for Canada." As for policy-makers north of the border, the delay expe- rienced by Green and Spiegel clients was alleviated, Green says, by the 2017 Global Skills Strategy, which was created to hasten employers bringing foreign workers into the coun- try. While processing typically took 14 weeks, it now can take two or three, says Green. The Global Skills Strategy and the reforms to the tempo- rary foreign worker program are providing a good balance between facilitating the entry of foreign workers and placing responsibilities on employers to train and hire Canadians, says Green. Another area the Greens say will be a growth area is the complications at the U.S. border that those working in the legal cannabis industry are likely to experience. "Really, it's as if they are attaining their livelihood off the proceeds of crime because it's considered a crime in the United States," says Green. "So, people are going to have to be very careful." Quebec has its own immigration system and the only place in Canada to have access to a program like the former federal investor program. Quebec recently announced that net-asset requirements will be raised to $2 million and the investment will be raised to $1.2 million. A controversial aspect of this program is that the vast majority of immigrants who use it do not stay in Quebec, but since the federal government no longer has a similar option, many will apply through Quebec and immediately head to another province. "Quebec knows that most of them are leaving," says Gom- berg. "But they're happy to be getting $1.2 million interest free for five years." Other provinces have complained because while they don't receive the $1.2 million interest-free loan from the immigrant they then must pay for the health care of this particularly older class of new Canadian, says Gomberg. "Canada, right now, [has] a very unique opportunity, given the fact that things are so negative south of the border. This is a unique time... for Canada to expand its multi-national business base."

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