Lexpert magazine features articles and columns on developments in legal practice management, deals and lawsuits of interest in Canada, the law and business issues of interest to legal professionals and businesses that purchase legal services.
Issue link: https://digital.carswellmedia.com/i/1547047
30 www.canadianlawyermag.com TOP 25 MOST INFLUENTIAL LAWYERS 2026 them as two different courts, the judicial one and the court of public opinion, where a win in either makes the other easier to win. She applies the same logic to her work with the Gaza Family Reunification Project, which she co-founded in November 2023 alongside a small team of colleagues. Sustained public pressure, a national peti- tion, media coverage, open letters, pushed the federal government to expand accep- tance numbers and eligibility for Gazans with Canadian family ties. But the win was incomplete: very few Gazans have actually entered Canada under the program, and colleagues from the same organization are now in court fighting to get the government to honour the measures it already agreed to. Why she calls it life or death Ansari resists reducing her work to paper- work. On any given day, she's handling a young man facing deportation after building his entire adult life in Canada, a father from Yemen whose only path forward runs through a country in famine, and transgender clients afraid to even file, unsure whether their claims will be taken seriously. For Ansari, a lawyer who is only filling in forms isn't doing the job. What clients retain her for, she says, is turning their stories into something that gets results. Building a public record for those who follow Ansari has also built education directly into her practice, hosting free webinars on Canada's immigration system, a free legal clinic for LGBTQ+ refugees, and a session during the University of Alberta's Pride Week on navigating claims based on sexual orientation. She's also contributed to policy research examining systemic barriers in Canada's temporary resident visa program for Gazans. Q&A with Yameena Ansari Ansari Immigration Law, Calgary, AB Q: If Hannah Kreager's claim is recognized as the first transgender American asylum application in Canada, what precedent do you think it should set for how the system handles gender-based persecution claims going forward? A: Historically, Canada has viewed the United States as a safe place for transgender people to be, and that's something we've seen change in the second Trump presidency. If the Immigration and Refugee Board accepts this case, it's going to make it a whole lot easier for transgender Americans, because right now a lot of them feel afraid to file because they don't know if their claim will be accepted. Hannah has been very outgoing about sharing her case publicly, on purpose, not just for herself but for the wider transgender American community. If we're successful, the decision will be public, and other lawyers can cite it when they bring their own clients' cases forward. Q: Your advocacy has been tied to expanded acceptance numbers and broader eligibility for Gazans with Canadian family ties. Which of those changes came fastest, and which took the longest to move? A: It kind of happened all together. We founded the Gaza Family Reunification Project, and between the petition, the open letters, and the media advocacy, we came out with a cohesive plan, and when the govern- ment opened the program, it read a lot like they'd taken what we wrote and passed it directly. What's been disheartening is what came after. The government introduced the measures, but hardly any Gazans have actually entered Canada on that program, so my colleagues are now having to liti- gate its implementation. Families fought so hard to get this introduced, and now Canada is making them go to court just to get the government to use the program it already created. Q: You've said immigration law isn't just paperwork, it's life or death. What's the moment in your career that made that true for you? A: I wouldn't say it's a single moment; it's many experiences that happen every day. Right now, I'm working on a file for a young man who could be deported despite having his entire adult life in Canada, and another for a father whose wife and child are Canadian, but he's from a country facing a massive famine, so returning isn't an option. My transgender clients carry a different kind of fear, but it's just as real. If all a lawyer is doing is filling in forms, they're probably not doing their job. What people retain me for is to tell their stories in a compelling manner and get the result they "I tell my clients there are two courts we're fighting in: the judicial court and the court of public opinion. You don't have to win in both, and winning one makes it easier to win the other" Yameena Ansari, Ansari Immigration Law SPECIAL REPORT