Warren L. Creates

Head of Immigration Law Group

Direct Line: 613.566.2839

Email: wcreates@perlaw.ca

 As head of the Immigration Law Group at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, Warren represents individuals, families and corporations in all aspects of immigration and emigration. Canadian immigration laws, including CUSMA, are his specialty. His services include complete representation and arrangement of all documentation for work permits and permanent resident status, including skilled workers, business immigration programs, provincial nominee programs, and representation for individuals in all matters pertaining to citizenship applications and refugee claims. Warren provides direction through the labyrinthine system of immigration laws and policy, ensuring his clients can get where they need to go.

Neither families nor businesses can wait while red tape is untangled. When it comes to moving people across borders,Warren knows where to cut through it.

 As an immigration leader, Warren is highly regarded as a writer and educator in immigration law. He is one of very few practitioners certified by the Law Society of Ontario in the three combined fields of Immigration, Citizenship and Refugee Law. He is a former Government of Canada immigration lawyer and is frequently sought by all media in regard to his expertise. He is rated by his peers as one of the top immigration lawyers in Canada. He has numerous publications to his credit including contributing author to one of the most significant casebooks of its kind, Immigration and Refugee Law: Cases, Materials and Commentary (Carasco et al, 2007).

Industry Recognition:

  • Best Lawyers in Canada (peer rated) 2012 – Present in Immigration Law

Credentials/Awards:

  • Certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as a Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law (Immigration + Refugee Protection), 2006 to present
  • Admitted to the Ontario Bar, 1986   
  • St. Joe’s Award for Community Service and Philanthropy, November 2016
  • Gordon F. Henderson Award for Community Service, March, 2013       
  • The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2013

Memberships/Affiliations:

Professional Activities

  • Former Canadian Government Immigration Lawyer: Department of Justice LAI (Legal Advisor to the Immigration and Refugee Board)   
  • Has acted as counsel to the Governments of Canada, China, Denmark, South Korea, and Sri Lanka      
  • Founder and President, The Can-Go Afar Foundation (www.cangoafar.ca)  
  • Former Chair, Immigration Bar Committee, Ottawa Law Association       
  • Frequent expert witness, Parliament of Canada, House of Commons Standing Committee on Immigration     
  • Former Committee Member and Practitioner’s Chair, Immigration and Refugee Board/Bar Consultative Committee        
  • Committee Member, Legal Aid Ontario Refugee Services Delivery Reform (2013-2014) 
  • Member, Team Ottawa Mission to China, led by Ottawa City Mayor (2013)      
  • Chair, Canadian Bar Association, Legal Aid Liaison Committee (2011-2019)      
  • Member, Trade Delegation to Asia led by the Mayor of Ottawa (1995)       
  • Founder and Executive Member, Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival (1992-present)
  • Consultant and Adviser on Equality Rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Solicitor General of Canada, 1986

Speaking/Lectures 

  • Frequent guest Lecturer, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law (1991-present)   
  • Frequent presenter at legal and business conferences throughout the world including:
    • Invited participant, Virtual Conference: Advancing the Interests of the Afar Nation’, January 2022
    • Tech Day on Parliament Hill, Panelist on migration/immigration, March 2020.
    • Presenter and mentor at Ottawa Board of Trade’s Trade Accelerator Program (TAP), Ottawa, Ontario, November 2019.
    • Presenter and author at the Canadian Bar Association annual conference, “Last Resort: Navigating LMIA Streams,” Winnipeg, Ontario, May 2019
    • Speaker at Expand to the U.S. Workshop in Ogdensburg, N.Y., May 2019
    • Invited speaker by U.S. Department of Commerce, cross-border movement of people, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Niagara Falls, 2015 & 2017. 
    • Presenter at Uppsala, Sweden, December 2016
    • Invited participant and stakeholder, Ontario and Ottawa Economic Leadership Summit (December 2014)      
    • Invited participant and stakeholder, Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade, Minister’s Economic Immigration Consultations (December 2014)     
    • Bi-Annual Gathering of the Afar Diaspora in Brussels, August 2014      
    • Algonquin College, Carleton University & University of Ottawa
    • Co-chair, Medical Devices Commercialization Centre Forum, University of Ottawa, 13 February 2014
    • Presenter at U.S. Embassy webinar, January 2014.Presenter at Conference in Ottawa, Ontario hosted by Ontario Ministry of   
    • Presenter at Conference in Kingston, Ontario hosted by Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, October 2013        
    • Presenter at Conference in Massena, New York hosted by the Embassy of the United States of America, October 2012        
    • Presenter at Conference in Ogdensburg, New York hosted by Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, September 2012       
    • Presentation in Stockholm, Sweden, December 2012       
    • Presentations in Semera and in Addis Ababa Ethiopia, July 2011       
    • Bureau du MRD en Amérique du Nord, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), July 2011        
    • Canadian Bar Association Conference, Halifax, Nova Scotia, May 2010      
    • Canadian Bar Association Conference, Whistler, B.C., April 2009      
    • Canadian Bar Association Conference, Quebec City, 2006      
    • Presentation in Denmark, October 2007
    • Presentation in Belgium, Brussels, October 2007
    • Guest Speaker on Immigration Law and Humanitarian Law topics in Canada, U.S.A., China, India, Taiwan, Korea, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Iraq, France, Belgium, U.K., Denmark, Ethiopia, Switzerland and Sweden.

Articles/Publications:

  • University of Ottawa International STEM Student Presentation, November 2019
  • “Working in and Migrating to New Markets” Trade Accelerator Program (TAP) Presentation, November 2019
  • “Trump’s Travel Ban: America’s Loss, Canada’s Enduring Opportunity“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, February 3, 2017.
  • “U.S. Immigration to Canada: Strength and Opportunity through Diversity“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, November 11, 2016.
  • “Canada Immigration: Intra-company Transfers“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, July 18, 2016.
  • “Federal Express: New Immigration Program, One Year In“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, January 19, 2016.
  • “Canada’s New Express Entry System: What We Know So Far“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, September 9, 2015.
  • “Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Update“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, July 24, 2015.
  • “Working in Canada: What is Work, and when is a Work Permit needed?”  Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website,www.perlaw.ca, May 2015.
  • “Express Entry: Top Five Tips“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, February 10, 2015.
  • “Key Changes to Canada’s Citizenship Act“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall
  • “Foreign Cooks, Chefs and Restaurant Workers in Canada“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, June 2, 2014.
  • “Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program: More Controversy, More Change“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, May 30, 2014
  • “Canada’s “Tour Tax”: Will New Foreign Worker Fees Crippled Music Venues?“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, November 2013.
  • “Living Without Status in Canada? You May Have Options“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, August 2013.
  • “Start-Up Visa Seeks to Attract the Next Zuckerburg to Canada“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, June 2013.
  • “What Does the Recent Controversy Mean for Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program?“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, April 2013.
  • “Making a Refugee Claim in Canada: What You Need to Know“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, February 2013.
  • “New Federal Skilled Trades Program Unveiled“, Perley-Robertson,Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, January 2013.
  • “Implications of Canada’s Crackdown on Citizenship Fraud“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, September 2012.
  • “Meeting the Residency Requirement in Applications for Canadian Citizenship“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, July 2012.
  • “Visas for Mexicans Cost Us All“, Ottawa Business Journal, December 2009.
  • “Easier to Immigrate?  The Canadian Experience Class and the Red Carpet“, Ottawa Business Journal, February 2008.
  • “Immigration’s New Category:  The Canadian Experience Class“, Ottawa Business Journal, March 2008.
  • “Improvements To The Temporary Foreign Worker Program”, Ottawa Business Journal, March 2007 website, www.perlaw.ca, July 2014

 Media Coverage:

  • Peer-profiled in the September 2011 edition (Vol. 20, No. 6) of The National magazine, the official monthly periodical of the Canadian Bar Association.
  • Frequently quoted in the media and press, as well as interviewed on radio and T.V. (Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, National Post, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun, CTV National, CBC National, CBC Radio, Ottawa Business Journal, CPAC)