Mira Thow received her law degree from the University of Manitoba [1980] and a Master of Laws degree in International Legal Studies from New York University [1984]. After articling with the Department of Justice and practicing corporate law with the firm of Goodman and Carr in Toronto, Ms. Thow returned to Winnipeg and joined her husband Kenneth Zaifman in the firm of Zaifman Associates in 1988. Since that time, Ms. Thow has practiced exclusively in the areas of Immigration and Citizenship law representing clients before the Immigration and Refugee Board (Appeal and Refugee Divisions), the Federal Court, the Manitoba Court of Queens Bench and, on behalf of the Canadian Bar Association, as an intervenor before the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ms. Thow has lectured frequently on Immigration Law at the University of Manitoba and has delivered papers on immigration issues at legal conferences in Canada and the United States. She has served as Chair of the Immigration Section, Manitoba Bar Association and as an Executive Member of the CBA National Immigration and Citizenship Section. Ms. Thow has served on several Law Society committees and was appointed by the Province as a part-time Chair of The Appeal Commission under the Workers’ Compensation Act of Manitoba. She also served as a board member and co-chair of the Women’s Enterprise Centre of Manitoba. For the past 10 years, Ms. Thow has focused primarily on business immigration advising corporations in a wide range of industries on the transfer and recruitment of foreign workers, representing many of the largest employers in western Canada.