Pandi-bapaga v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)
Court headnote
Pandi-bapaga v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) Court (s) Database Federal Court Decisions Date 2001-07-26 Neutral citation 2001 FCT 834 File numbers IMM-4248-00 Decision Content Date: 20010726 Docket: IMM-4248-00 Neutral citation: 2001 FCT 834 BETWEEN: MARC PANDI BAPAGA Applicant -and- THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent REASONS FOR ORDER LEMIEUX J. [1] These written reasons confirm those given orally yesterday when dismissing this judicial review application by Marc Pandi Bapaga, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo whose refugee claim was rejected by the Refugee Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (the "Tribunal") on July 18, 2000. He claimed that from May 1997 to June 1998 he was locked up in prison, tortured and sexually assaulted. The source of his fear of return is based on imputed political opinion and being the son of a high ranking official of the Mobutu Government. His father, he says, was an ambassador and later a Commissaire d'Etat. [2] The Tribunal was not satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, as to the applicant's identity or the credibility of his alleged account of the event giving rise to his claim. [3] I am satisfied the Tribunal's findings both on credibility and on identity are sound and are based on the evidence. [4] To establish his identity the applicant relied on a diplomatic passport which he did not refer to in his PIF, which had been altered (confirmed by the RCMP), whose photograph as a yo…
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Pandi-bapaga v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) Court (s) Database Federal Court Decisions Date 2001-07-26 Neutral citation 2001 FCT 834 File numbers IMM-4248-00 Decision Content Date: 20010726 Docket: IMM-4248-00 Neutral citation: 2001 FCT 834 BETWEEN: MARC PANDI BAPAGA Applicant -and- THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent REASONS FOR ORDER LEMIEUX J. [1] These written reasons confirm those given orally yesterday when dismissing this judicial review application by Marc Pandi Bapaga, a citizen of the Democratic Republic of Congo whose refugee claim was rejected by the Refugee Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (the "Tribunal") on July 18, 2000. He claimed that from May 1997 to June 1998 he was locked up in prison, tortured and sexually assaulted. The source of his fear of return is based on imputed political opinion and being the son of a high ranking official of the Mobutu Government. His father, he says, was an ambassador and later a Commissaire d'Etat. [2] The Tribunal was not satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, as to the applicant's identity or the credibility of his alleged account of the event giving rise to his claim. [3] I am satisfied the Tribunal's findings both on credibility and on identity are sound and are based on the evidence. [4] To establish his identity the applicant relied on a diplomatic passport which he did not refer to in his PIF, which had been altered (confirmed by the RCMP), whose photograph as a young child the Tribunal was not satisfied was of him and which stated his father was dead and contradicts his oral testimony. [5] The Tribunal was not satisfied the applicant had returned to Zaire from South Africa in 1996 because his passport did not contain an exit stamp which the South African authorities confirmed would be shown if he had left. The Tribunal was justified, in my view, to disbelieve the applicant had been persecuted from May of 1997 to June 1998. [6] These findings which are unimpeachable go at the heart of the applicant's story and the Tribunal's finding. "François Lemieux" J.F.C.C. Toronto, Ontario July 26, 2001 FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record DOCKET: IMM-4248-00 STYLE OF CAUSE: MARC PANDI BAPAGA Applicant -and- THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent DATE OF HEARING: WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2001 PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO REASONS FOR ORDER BY: LEMIEUX J. DATED: THURSDAY, JULY 26, 2001 APPEARANCES: Mr. David Yerzy For the Applicant Mr. Kevin Lunney For the Respondent SOLICITORS OF RECORD: David P. Yerzy Barrister & Solicitor 14 Prince Arthur Ave. #108 Toronto, Ontario M5R 1A9 For the Applicant Morris Rosenberg Deputy Attorney General of Canada For the Respondent FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA Date: 20010726 Docket: IMM-4248-00 BETWEEN: MARC PANDI BAPAGA Applicant -and- THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent REASONS FOR ORDER Date: 20010725 Docket: IMM-4248-00 Toronto, Ontario, Wednesday, the 25th day of July, 2001 PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Lemieux BETWEEN: MARC PANDI BAPAGA Applicant - and - THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent ORDER This judicial review application is dismissed for the oral reasons expressed. "François Lemieux" J.F.C.C.
Source: decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca