David Cohen (August 1, 1946 – May 14, 2021) was a Canadian immigration lawyer based in
Montreal, Quebec. He was the senior partner at the Cohen Immigration Law firm, and he testified on immigration to the
Senate of Canada and
Parliament of Canada. He was recognised for his use of the internet to help immigrants move to and settle in Canada. He died on May 14, 2021.[1]
Cohen began practicing Canadian immigration law after being called to the
Bar of Quebec in 1975[3] and was a member of the
Law Society of Ontario.[4] He was a member in good standing of the
Canadian Bar Association's Immigration Law Section, the
American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Quebec Immigration Lawyers Association.[5] In 2017, he was named a Life Governor of the Quebec Bar Foundation, which is a charitable organization that seeks to advance the rule of law through research.[6]
Cohen received media recognition for his work assisting immigrants. In 2015,
David Berger and Cohen spearheaded an effort in conjunction with other members of the
Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom to reunite Syrian refugees with their families in Montreal.[11] Members of the Temple raised $70,000 to sponsor two Syrian families through Canada's
Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program.[12] He was regarded as a pioneer due to his use of technology to provide information on how to move to Canada, as well as to connect immigrants so they can develop social networks and find employment.[12][13][14][15][16]
^Kitagawa, K., Krywulak, T., & Watt, D. (2008). Renewing immigration: Towards a convergence and consolidation of Canada’s immigration policies and systems. The Conference Board of Canada.