Warren L. Creates
Head of Immigration Law Group
Warren Creates is an immigration lawyer in the Ottawa area and head of the Immigration Law Group at Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall, representing individuals, families and corporations in all aspects of immigration. 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 Ottawa immigration lawyer and 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).
Warren has travelled to some of the world’s most remote and dangerous locations (e.g. Iraq and Afghanistan) to successfully represent some of the most challenging cases a lawyer could ever be consulted on. Warren consistently demonstrates exceptional ability, the cornerstone to the firm’s Immigration Law Group.
- Gordon F. Henderson Award, March, 2013
- The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2013
- Certified by the Law Society of Ontario as a Specialist in Citizenship and Immigration Law (Immigration + Refugee Protection), 2006 to present
- Admitted to the Ontario Bar, 1986
- Best Lawyers 2012-2023 in Immigration Law
- Amnesty International
- Canadian Bar Association
- County of Carleton Law Association
- Canadian Club
- The American Chamber of Commerce in Canada
- The Canadian Immigration Historical Society
- Former Canadian Government Immigration Lawyer (Legal Advisor to the Immigration and Refugee Board)
- Has acted as counsel to the Governments of Canada, China, Denmark, 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 Consultive 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 (2011-2013)
- Member, Trade Delegation to Asia led by the Mayor of Ottawa (1995)
- Founder and Executive Member, Ottawa Dragon Boat Race Festival (1992-present)
- Frequent guest Lecturer, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law (1991-present)
- Frequent presenter at legal conferences throughout the world including:
- Invited participant, Virtual Conference: ‘Advancing the Interests of the Afar Nation’, 22 January 2022
- Invited speaker by U.S. Department of Commerce, cross-border movement of people, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Niagara falls, 2015 & 2017.
- 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 (Ottawa, annually)
- 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 Economic Development, October 2013
- 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
- 2019 – uOttawa International Student Presentation
- Working In and Migrating to New Markets Presentation
- “Making a Successful Refugee Claim in Canada“, Perley-Robertson, Hill & McDougall website, www.perlaw.ca, June 4th, 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 website, www.perlaw.ca, July 2014.
- “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