A week of cases at the Federal Court
A. Humphreys
The National Post
Published: Friday, July 25, 2008
When Canada moves to deport would-be immigrants, the last-ditch pleas go to the Federal Court of Canada. Here are the 22 immigration-related cases ruled on in one week in mid-May, 2008:
CASE A Peruvian woman is refused entry to Canada because of her poor English but argues she was not given a formal language test and seeks another hearing.
DECISION Allowed
CASE A South Korean man led a quiet life with his family in Canada for a decade despite a petty criminal conviction in his past; he wants a second chance on humanitarian grounds.
DECISION Allowed
CASE A man being sent back to Israel because officials did not believe he faced dangerous repercussions for hiring Palestinians at his construction firm appeals the decision.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE After almost 10 years in Canada, a couple is being sent back to Libya because the husband had been a member of the Libyan Intelligence Service; they appeal on humanitarian grounds.
DECISION Allowed for wife, dismissed for husband
CASE A Chinese member of an underground church who was denied asylum because he did not know enough about Catholic history when quizzed by an immigration judge complains to the court.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A Mexican woman and her child who could not convince officials they deserved protection from her violent former husband seek redress.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A Cambodian man who was not allowed to bring his fourth wife to Canada – after evidence suggested he was being paid $100,000 to get her here – appeals that his marriage is not a sham.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A Chinese national being deported because he was convicted of sexual assault in Toronto seeks to stay because he risks being imprisoned in China.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A Nigerian man who was incorrectly branded a criminal wants to make a fresh application to live here.
DECISION Allowed
CASE A Pakistani man, fearing Muslim fundamentalists at home and allowed into Canada on a business visa, is being sent back because he has not been entrepreneurial enough; he asks court to intervene.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A woman from St. Vincent and the Grenadines who is trying to bring her daughter to live with her in Canada but was refused because her adult child was not a dependent appeals.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A gay Mexican man seeking refugee status because of anti-gay sentiment in his homeland and the lack of HIV treatment wants the court to overturn an immigration decision, despite the fact he has already been sent back.
DECISION Dismissed as moot
CASE A Kurdish leftist whose story of torture in his native Turkey was not believed by immigration officials despite showing them his dramatic scars and supporting medical records seeks a second opinion.
DECISION Allowed
CASE A homosexual man from Albania who was denied refugee status because he was not promiscuous in his homeland (and therefore deemed not in danger by immigration officials) appeals.
DECISION Allowed
CASE An Ethiopian anti-government activist says he cannot go home because government spies at Ethiopia's embassy in Canada will have reported his opposition activities back home says the government made an error.
DECISION Allowed
CASE A Kurdish Turk who was forced to chant anti-Kurd slogans in school but is being sent back because the Turkish government gave him a passport – so he can't be that hard done by – appeals.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE An Indian man accused of smuggling weapons in his homeland but was denied asylum here because his tale of torture and police harassment was not believed insists immigration officials got it wrong.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE Another purported member of an underground Christian church in China; he was denied asylum because his story of escaping through Beijing airport was disbelieved and wants another chance to make his case.
DECISION Allowed
CASE A woman pregnant with a second child, contrary to the one-child policy in her native China, appeals after her asylum request is refused because an official says she would likely be fined, not forced to undergo an abortion and sterilization.
DECISION Allowed
CASE A Mexican family denied asylum despite telling a bizarre story of family revenge after the mother's uncle, who is a government lawyer, prosecuted the father's uncle for fraud complains to the court.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A man from Mexico whose story of fleeing his homeland because of reprisals for taking legal action to reclaim his land from drug lords is disbelieved by officials but wants a second opinion.
DECISION Dismissed
CASE A woman who was an illegal immigrant here but fears returning to Jamaica because her violent her ex-husband is there is denied asylum. Twist here is she met the man in Canada and was abused by him here; he was deported back to Jamaica after she reported it to police.
DECISION Allowed
OUTCOME 12 cases dismissed, nine allowed, one split decision – a success rate of essentially 40%. That is significantly higher than usual; for all of last year, only 22% of cases won a second hearing.
National Post
ahumphreys@nationalpost.com
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Related Topics
Domestic Policy
Immigration
Beijing
Federal Court of Canada
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