Cano Ponce v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)

Cano Ponce v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)
Court (s) Database
Federal Court Decisions
Date
2013-02-21
Neutral citation
2013 FC 181
File numbers
IMM-1982-12
Decision Content
Date: 20130221
Docket: IMM-1982-12
Citation: 2013 FC 181
Toronto, Ontario, February 21, 2013
PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Zinn
BETWEEN:
JOAQUINA ELIZABETH CANO PONCE
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT AND JUDGMENT
[1] I am not persuaded that it was unreasonable for the Board to find that the risk the applicant faces in El Salvador is a generalized rather than a personalized risk, which means that the applicant is not a person in need of protection pursuant to paragraph 97(1)(b)(ii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27. For that reason I am dismissing this application.
[2] The starting point is for the Board to appropriately determine the nature of the risk faced by the claimant. Here the Board did so. It found that she was “a victim of crime” and that the threats and assault she experienced were “as a result of extortion demands.” In my view, that is a reasonable assessment and description of the risk the applicant faced, based on the record before the Board.
[3] The next step in the analysis is to compare the risk faced by the claimant to that faced by a significant group in the country to determine whether the risks are of the same nature and degree. The Board here did so and found that “the risk faced by the claimant as a result of being the target of extortion, is faced generally by many people who are perceived to be wealthy, or own their own business in El Salvador.” That too is a reasonable assessment based on the record.
[4] Lastly, if the Board finds that the risk is a personalized one then it must examine the forward-looking nature of the risk. In this case, having reasonably found that the risk was a generalized one, no such forward-looking analysis was required.
[5] This application must be dismissed. No question was proposed for certification.
JUDGMENT
THIS COURT’S JUDGMENT is that this application is dismissed and no question is certified.
"Russel W. Zinn"
Judge
FEDERAL COURT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: IMM-1982-12
STYLE OF CAUSE: JOAQUINA ELIZABETH CANO PONCE v
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
PLACE OF HEARING: Toronto, Ontario
DATE OF HEARING: February 20, 2013
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
AND JUDGMENT: ZINN J.
DATED: February 21, 2013
APPEARANCES:
Diana S. Willard
FOR THE APPLICANT
Nadine Silverman
FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
DIANA S. WILLARD
Barrister & Solicitor
Toronto, Ontario
FOR THE APPLICANT
WILLIAM F. PENTNEY
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Toronto, Ontario
FOR THE RESPONDENT