The average hourly rate of any lawyer on Toronto ranges between $250-1000 based on the number of years and specialisation of the lawyer. Searching for a lawyer and what they offer cannot be compared to walking into stores and checking out the products. You can simply search the cases on free databases and see how many cases the law firm or the lawyer has represented. If lawyers started giving free consultations, they would be swamped just doing that. Also, many elite lawyers charge a consultation fee to make it worth their time and get rid of non serious potential clients.
Unfortunately, the Canadian immigration DIY, especially the express entry makes people believe that immigration law is as easy as filing up forms and things just happen. Express entry is one of the many ways of immigration to Canada. Some lawyers don't even bother dealing with express entry applications. There is a whole field of immigration law, from refugee claims, spousal sponsorship, inadmissibility, deportation, etc. which needs specialised professionals. This is why consultants are not allowed to represent clients before the courts, since they have no knowledge of the legal procedure.
Bellissimo Law Group is the best law firm when it comes to medical inadmissibility and they are well regarded.
However, if you believe that your are inadmissible based on the law, then you should engage a lawyer and see what they have to say. The law on medical inadmissibility is very straight forward.
Section A38(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states:
Health Grounds
• 38(1) A foreign national is inadmissible on health grounds if their health condition
(a) is likely to be a danger to public health;
(b) is likely to be a danger to public safety; or
(c) might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services.
Danger to public health
For inadmissibility under the ‘Public Health’ factor, it is evaluated whether the applicant is affected or carries any communicable disease; and the impact that the disease could have on other persons living in Canada. (
R31(b-c)).
The conditions which are likely to be a danger to public health are, active Pulmonary Tuberculosis (TB) and untreated Syphilis. If the applicant has either or both of these conditions, they will likely be found inadmissible on the grounds of danger to public safety, unless the applicant is treated according to the standards laid down by Health Canada. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is not considered a danger to public health.
Public Safety
For inadmissibility under ‘Public Safety,’ the risk of a sudden incapacity or of unpredictable or violent behaviour of the applicant that would create a danger to the health or safety of persons living in Canada is considered. (
R33(b))
Conditions that are likely to cause a danger to public safety include serious uncontrolled and/or uncontrollable mental health problems such as:
- certain impulsive sociopathic behaviour disorders;
- some aberrant sexual disorders such as pedophilia;
- certain paranoid states or some organic brain syndromes associated with violence or risk of harm to others;
- applicants with substance abuse leading to antisocial behaviours such as violence, and impaired driving; and
- other types of hostile, disruptive behaviour.
For both these factors listed above, ‘Public Health’ and ‘Public Safety’ the wealth of the applicants is irrelevant. The Supreme Court of Canada in
Hilewitz v. Canada, 2005 SCC ¶ 88 held that, “[t]he chief responsibility of the medical officer in such cases is to assess the danger to public health or safety. Wealth, regardless of how rich the applicant is, is irrelevant to this assessment.”
Most applicants are inadmissible under the
Excessive demand on health and social services
Even in a scenario where the applicant may not have any communicable disease and may not be a threat to public safety, if the applicant suffers from any medical condition, which is likely to place excessive demand on health and social services, will render the applicant medically inadmissible.
Section 1 of the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations(IRPR) defines “excessive demand” as
- a demand on health services or social services for which the anticipated costs would likely exceed average Canadian per capita health services and social services costs over a period of five consecutive years immediately following the most recent medical examination required under paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), unless there is evidence that significant costs are likely to be incurred beyond that period, in which case the period is no more than 10 consecutive years; or
- a demand on health services or social services that would add to existing waiting lists and would increase the rate of mortality and morbidity in Canada as a result of an inability to provide timely services to Canadian citizens or permanent residents.
6.3.1 Excessive demand on Health services
Section R1 defines “health services” as any health services for which the majority of funds are contributed by governments, including the services of family physicians, medical specialists, nurses, chiropractors and physiotherapists, laboratory services and the supply of pharmaceutical or hospital care. The case law has developed separate requirements for excessive demand on health services and excessive demand on social services. Since most health services are publicly funded, without any cost-recovery mechanism, the courts have held that an applicant’s willingness or ability to pay is not a relevant factor. In
Deol v. Canada (M.C.I.), 2002 FCA 271, the Federal Court of Appeal said:
“The Minister has no power to admit a person as a permanent resident on the condition that the person either does not make a claim on the health insurance plans in the provinces or promises to reimburse the costs of any services required.”
However, in
Companioni v. Canada (M.C.I.), 2009 FC 1315 and later cases, the Federal Court allowed some flexibility in assessing the applicant’s ability to defray the costs of outpatient medication, such as HIV antiretroviral therapy. Therefore, medical officers have to make an individualized assessment of the medical file, the required outpatient medication, the availability of private insurance and the ability to opt out of publicly funded drug plans in the province or territory where the applicant intends to reside.
6.3.2 Excessive demand on Health services
Section R1 defines “social services” as any social services, such as home care, specialized residence and residential services, special education services, social and vocational rehabilitation services, personal support services and the provision of devices related to those services,
- that are intended to assist a person in functioning physically, emotionally, socially, psychologically or vocationally; and
- for which the majority of the funding, including funding that provides direct or indirect financial support to an assisted person, is contributed by governments, either directly or through publicly-funded agencies.
In light of the Supreme Court decision in
Hilewitz v. Canada (M.C.I.), De Jong v. Canada (M.C.I.) 2005 SCC 57, and subsequently the Federal Court of Appeal decision in
Colaco v. Canada (M.C.I.), 2007 FCA 282, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officers must consider all evidence presented by an applicant before making a decision of inadmissibility due to excessive demand on social services. The judgments apply to
all categories of immigrants.
In
Hilewitz and
De Jong, the Supreme Court determined that all applicants are entitled to an assessment of the probabledemand their disability or impairment might place on social services. The applicant is required to provide the officer with information of sufficient quality and detail to permit an assessment of the probable need for social services. In addition, the applicant may provide evidence of ability and intent to reduce the cost and impact on Canadian social services, and this would have to be considered in making a decision.
6.4 Cost threshold
The cost threshold is determined by multiplying the per capita cost of Canadian health and social services by the number of years used in the medical assessment for the individual applicant. This cost threshold is updated every year. For 2018, the value is $99,060 over 5 years (or $19,812 per year).
A more detailed discussion on how the cost threshold is calculated is provided
https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/excessive-demand-report-eng.pdf
If you exceed the cost threshold, then you should definitely see a lawyer and ascertain if they can help.
