Daniel and his wife Juanita consulted with Fathima to represent them on a spousal sponsorship application to obtain permanent residence for Juanita.

At their first meeting, Fathima explained the forms, documents, and fees required, and what processes to expect. The couple decides to proceed. They both signed the service agreement with Fathima and made the down payment. Fathima will represent Daniel (the Sponsor) and Juanita (the Applicant) on the application. They booked another appointment for next week to get started.

The following week, Juanita attends the meeting alone, explaining that she and Daniel argued the night before and Daniel has now gone to his parents' house to cool off. Fathima asks if Juanita is okay. She is, but says she is having doubts about whether she should have gone through with the marriage. Fathima obtains some details from her for the forms.

A few days later, Juanita calls Fathima in the evening. She is upset and complains that everything turns into an argument with Daniel, "money, chores, meals, you name it". She does not know what to do anymore. Fathima empathizes with Juanita. By the end of the call, Juanita assures Fathima that everything will probably be okay and apologizes for bothering her at home. The next day she drops off the documents requested.

Fathima continues to work on the forms. When finished, she calls both spouses in to review and sign the forms. Both parties indicate they went through a rough patch, but everything is fine now. They approve the package. Fathima submits the sponsorship application to IRCC, confirms for the clients the date of submission and provides them a complete copy.

Three weeks later Juanita calls Fathima to tell her she is ending it with Daniel. The last argument escalated and he slapped her. She has now left him and has no intention of returning. She does not want to proceed with the sponsorship and asks Fathima to discontinue it. However, she wonders if Fathima can help her apply for PR in another category. She heard of the humanitarian & compassionate category which might work for an abused woman. Fathima says she will have to think about that.

Discussion Questions

Group 1: Identify who is Fathima's client(s) here, with reference to the definition of client.

Group 2: Explain how section 28 (Confidentiality) applies to Fathima's relationship with Juanita and Daniel.