Case Study:

Anas has been raising his late sister Salima and brother-in-law Barouk's two young daughters, Layla and Nadia. He has taken the girls to visit their father's family in Halifax on a number of occasions. Barouk's brother, Rashid, owns several businesses in Halifax and Toronto. He has two daughters of his own who are around the same ages as Layla and Nadia. All four girls got along very well, and Anas could see that being with their other family members has helped Layla and Nadia tremendously in overcoming the grief of losing their parents. In November of that year, Anas received an email from Rashid, stating that he had purchased a home on the Sunshine Coast with intentions to move there with his family and adopt his nieces. Rashid believed that as a Canadian citizen with significant financial assets, his petition to adopt his nieces would be allowed by the Canadian courts because he can provide Layla and Nadia with a comfortable upbringing and financial stability. He intended to pay for all of their living expenses and education so that they could invest the money Salima and Barouk left behind for the girls when they reach adulthood. Rashid asked Anas not to contest his intention to adopt Layla and Nadia. You advised Anas that if he is no longer raising his nieces, he may not be able to demonstrate sufficient grounds for humanitarian and compassionate factors on his application for permanent residence. Anas acknowledged your advice, but ultimately decided that it would be in his nieces' best interests to be raised by Rashid and his wife. He withdrew his application for permanent residence soon after. The girls moved into Rashid's new home in December 2020. Anas was welcome to visit them whenever he liked. He saw for himself that Layla and Nadia were adjusting wonderfully and had begun to recover from the grief of their parents' deaths. IRCC acknowledged the withdrawal of Anas' application for permanent residence, and further advised that his Visitor Record would still be valid should he decide to remain in Canada. Anas continued to live in his late sister's home, looking after the property by making repairs wherever necessary and taking care of the gardens he and his nieces had built. He grew his own food or ate meals with Rashid's family. With Rashid also paying for the hydro and internet bills in the house, Anas did not need to worry about his living expenses in Canada. By this time, he had become very knowledgeable about horticulture himself. During the summer, he and the girls had harvested a large crop of berries, tomatoes and cucumbers. Their flower gardens bloomed beautifully as well. Barouk's restaurant came under the management of his employees, who were happy to use a portion of their crops in the restaurant. The girls also shared their crops and flowers with all of their neighbours who had helped them following their parents' deaths. One of their neighbours is Penelope Walsh, who operates an organic farm on her property called "Badger Hill Farm." Penelope is a Canadian citizen the same age as Salima. She was one of the neighbours who had helped Anas learn about horticulture during the spring and summer. She was very impressed with the work he had done on his gardens and asked if Anas would be willing to work for her as a Farm Labourer at Badger Hill Farm. Badger Hill has been a successful farm since August 1, 2008, growing organic food and flowers. The farm is situated on 2 acres of greenhouses and fields and produces flowers, greens, roots, legumes, and fruits. Penelope, who is originally from Montreal, operates a year-round retail store onsite to sell her produce, and also sources other organic produce that her farm doesn't grow. Her farm is also the supplier of most of the ingredients for the town's restaurants, including Barouk's. Since her divorce from her first husband, Penelope has been running the entire operation by herself with the help of her siblings and cousins. She had never employed a full-time employee before, but the farm had gotten so busy that she felt it was time for her to invest in hiring a fulltime worker. She had already posted several advertisements on the National Job Bank and other job posting websites but had not received any applications for the position. Penelope was willing to offer Anas a competitive wage ($25.00/hour), three weeks of vacation each year, and extended medical benefits. Anas's duties would include all field and greenhouse work (preparation, seeding, planting, cultivating, harvesting, postharvest care, irrigation, and tool repair), processing crops for jams or general sale, greenhouse maintenance, operating the farm store, and construction and repair of farm and greenhouse infrastructure. There are no formal education requirements needed for the position, but she needed someone with previous experience in all of these tasks and could speak English or French fluently. She promised that if Anas accepted her offer, she would help him with applying for a work permit. After discussing this matter with Rashid, Anas decided to accept Penelope's offer of employment. Gardening and growing organic horticulture were also what helped Anas overcome his grief over the loss of his family, so he felt this was the perfect opportunity for him to start a career in this industry. Penelope began the application process for his work permit right away by applying for the necessary certifications and inspections. Once the initial process was completed, Penelope also helped Anas with filing an application for a work permit. Unfortunately, this process took a very long time due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. On December 2, 2021, Anas was finally issued a work permit for the position of Farm Labourer, valid until December 2, 2023. "Badger Hill Farm Ltd." is listed as his employer, with his work location listed as "Sechelt". Anas began working at Badger Hill Farm on January 5, 2022. He cleared the greenhouses of old crops, conducted soil tests and repaired equipment. A quarter of Badger Hill's greenhouses were dedicated to winter crops like kale, onions, and leeks, so he set to work on taking care of those. Penelope put him in charge of preparing new seedlings for planting in the spring and processing summer berries to be made into jams and frozen goods. The two of them spent many hours cooking up berries and making jams. Having grown up in Montreal, Penelope also speaks fluent French. Therefore, there were no communication problems between herself and Anas during their work. Anas worked 30 hours per week during this time. On weekends, he visited his nieces or worked on his own garden or went on day trips around the coast with them and Rashid's family. Rashid and his wife now consider Anas as their own brother. On March 1, 2022, Anas began working 40 hours per week as the farm became very busy. Penelope's two brothers and several cousins also began coming to help on the farm during the day. Anas became good friends with Penelope's brothers, George and Michael, who were around his own age. They often invited Anas to join them for drinks after his work was done for the day, or to play videos games together. It had been a while since Anas had spent time with other young men his age, so he was especially grateful for their friendship. Anas spends almost every moment of the day with Penelope, working in the greenhouses or in their farm store. She had been good friends with Salima, so she was always happy to lend a shoulder for Anas to cry on when he missed his family. They would talk for hours about the good memories they have of Salima, Barouk, and Anas' own parents. Anas has also gotten to know many of their regular customers in the store, who all like him and enjoy chatting with him about their produce. Because he is her only employee, Penelope came to rely on him a great deal. With him looking after the farm, Penelope was able to go on vacation for the first time in years. Every time she came back from her travels, she would bring a present for Anas to thank him for taking care of the farm for her. In October 2022, Anas began inviting Penelope to come for dinner with Rashid's family on weekends. Penelope always accepted happily because she loved Anas' cooking. In turn, she would often invite Anas to dinner with her own family, who live on the other side of the coast. Anas always enjoyed his time with Penelope's family since he was already good friends with her two brothers. The three of them took a road trip to Kamloops, B.C. in the new year. It was spring again when Anas finally realized that he had fallen in love with Penelope. One day in March, he worked up the courage and told Penelope about his feelings for her. To his joy, Penelope admitted that she, too, had developed feelings for him. They agreed to start a relationship, but Penelope, who had already experienced one failed marriage, did not want Anas to move into her home until their relationship was more serious. Anas accepted this and continued to live by himself in Salima's house. They spent several hours together each day after work, cooking and watching TV or taking walks. He continued to work for her on the farm and followed her direction in all his duties. A few weeks later, they told their families about their relationship, and both families were very happy for them. On August 15, 2023, Anas joined George and Michael on a vacation to Miami, Florida. The three of them had a good time going to parties and clubs for the first few days. On August 18, while drinking and partying at a club in downtown Miami, George took out a large quantity of cannabis that he had bought in a shop in Canada and snuck into Miami in his checked baggage. All three of them drank and smoked marijuana throughout the night, only leaving the club in the early hours of the morning. As they entered a restaurant for breakfast, the smell of marijuana caught the attention of two police officers who were also about to go inside the restaurant. The officers ordered Anas, George, and Michael to subject themselves to a search. Anas, who was the one carrying all of their remaining marijuana, refused to be searched. He was beaten by the officers for his refusal. He, George and Michael tried to defend themselves by fighting back against the officers. George was also severely beaten during the fight. All three of them were arrested. Anas and George were taken to the hospital to treat their injuries. There, Anas was found to be carrying 22 grams of dried marijuana. Michael was treated for minor injuries at the scene and detained at the Miami Police Station. He phoned Rashid and Penelope from detention and asked them for help. Penelope immediately flew to Miami and hired a lawyer to represent Anas and her brothers. Since they did not have other immigration status in the United States, they were all kept in detention until their trial. On August 28, 2023, Anas pleaded guilty to "Possession of a Controlled Substance," contrary to section 893.13(6) of the Florida Statutes. George and Michael pleaded guilty to "Assault" on a law enforcement officer, contrary to section 784.07 of the Florida Statutes. Because there was video evidence of Anas being beaten by the officers, he was only sentenced to a $3,000 USD fine instead of imprisonment. George and Michael were sentenced to fines of $5,000 USD each. The police could not find evidence that any of them had trafficked cannabis into the United States from Canada, so the men were not charged with any offences related to trafficking. They paid the fines on the same day. Anas returned to Sechelt with George, Michael, and Penelope two days later. Anas was very ashamed of what he had done in Miami. He had never taken any drugs before and never drank excessively. He was horrified that he had gotten into such an altercation with law enforcement officials in a foreign country. Penelope was very upset at Anas, because her first husband had been addicted to drugs and had stolen money from her to buy drugs during their marriage. Anas promised Penelope that he would never take any drugs again and would even quit drinking. True to his word, Anas never touched another alcoholic drink or any type of drugs again. As the months passed, he and Penelope began discussing their future. Penelope does not want to get married again, but she would like to start living together with Anas. Since she is technically Anas' employer, she is unsure if their relationship would be a breach of her obligations as an employer under the Temporary Foreign Worker program. She also heard that she could sponsor Anas for permanent residence, but she isn't sure how that process would go. After paying his fine, Anas has $8,000 CDN in savings, which he hopes to use on renovations to Penelope's house so he could move in with her. He wants to keep working with her on the farm for the rest of his life. Last month, he obtained an Education Credential Assessment report from World Education Services, which confirms that his bachelor's degree from Morocco is equivalent to a Canadian bachelor's Degree. On September 1, 2023, he completed a TCF Canada Test and achieved 520 in Reading and Listening, and 7 in Writing and Speaking. Anas has returned to you to seek your help again in becoming a permanent resident. He and Penelope are especially concerned about his criminal conviction in the United States, and whether that would cause him to be removed from Canada. His two nieces are also very distressed about the possibility of his deportation from Canada. Rashid has told Anas that he will help pay for all of the fees needed for his application. Penelope tells you that she will provide you with whatever information or documents necessary for Anas' application. She would like you to confirm whether she would be in trouble with the government for starting a relationship with her employee. Anas would like to become a permanent resident as soon as possible.

Please help with drafting an opinion letter mentioning:

• The only available program, with a thorough explanation as to how the applicant meets eligibility criteria.
• Whether PR application will be processed via Express Entry or the Permanent Residence Portal.
• Which NOC code can Anas apply under?