Williams v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)

Williams v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)
Court (s) Database
Federal Court Decisions
Date
2005-06-29
Neutral citation
2005 FC 922
File numbers
IMM-5553-04
Decision Content
Date: 20050629
Docket: IMM-5553-04
Citation: 2005 FC 922
Toronto, Ontario, June 29th, 2005
Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice von Finckenstein
BETWEEN:
DELORIS WILLIAMS
ROBERTA AMY ANN PALMER ( a.k.a. ROBERTA AMY-ANN PALMER)
RODEL JHEALANI PALMER
Applicants
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
(Delivered orally from the bench and subsequently written for precision and clarification)
[1] Ms. Deloris Williams, the principal Applicant, and her children are Jamaican citizens. Ms. Williams fled Jamaica to escape her husband's abuse, and she makes her claim on the basis of the persecution and cruel and unusual treatment that she would face in Jamaica as a victim of domestic violence.
[2] The Immigration and Refugee Board (the "Board") rejected her claim finding;
a) that the Applicant lacked credibility, and
b) had not proven the absence of state protection for crimes of domestic violence in Jamaica.
[3] Its is undisputed that with respect to credibility findings, the applicable standard of review is patent unreasonableness (Umba v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, [2004] F.C.J. No. 17, while with respect to state protection, the appropriate standard of review is reasonableness simpliciter (Chaves v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2005] F.C.J. No. 232.
[4] The Board provided two examples for its finding of lack of credibility; the implausibility that she did not seek police protection a second time as the first time resulted in her husband being charged, and the lack of plausibility that her husband did not know she was eight months pregnant when she left Jamaica. However, neither example is supported by the Tribunal Record.
[5] She testified that she had reported her husband once before for severely beating her. He was charged, brought before the court, admonished and released. She testified that she was beaten before reporting him, between reporting him and the court hearing and subsequent to the hearing. It is therefore far from implausible that she would not go through this procedure again, given the lack of success the first time and the resultant beatings (Tribunal Record at pp. 259, 261, 263).
[6] As far as her husband's knowledge of pregnancy is concerned, the Applicant never testified that he did not know about her pregnancy. Rather, the pertinent exchange was:
Presiding Member: So does your husband know you have a daughter?
Claimant: I don't know.
Presiding Member: Did you speak to him after you arrived in Canada
Claimant: No, I did not.
(Tribunal Record at pp 270-1)
[7] The Board, after reviewing Jamaican reforms, came to the conclusion that the government of Jamaica is taking serious steps with respect to police abuse. While protection may not be perfect, it is available.
[8] The Applicant's issue, however, is domestic violence and the lack of enforcement of legislation in regard thereto. It is not an issue of police abuse.
[9] While there may have been sufficient evidence before the Board to support its findings of both the lack of credibility of the Applicant and the availability of state protection, such evidence was not mentioned by the Board in its reasons. The reasons given for lack of credibility do not stand up to scrutiny and those regarding state protection deal with a point not in issue.
[10] Accordingly, the Board's findings are not reasonable and this decision must be set aside.
ORDER
THIS COURT ORDERS that this application be allowed.
"K. von Finckenstein"
J.F.C.
FEDERAL COURT
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
DOCKET: IMM-5553-04
STYLE OF CAUSE: DELORIS WILLIAMS, ROBERTA AMY ANN
PALMER (a.k.a. ROBERTA AMY-ANN PALMER)
RODEL JHEALANI PALMER
Applicants
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND
IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: JUNE 29, 2005
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER BY: von FINKENSTEIN J.
DATED: JUNE 29, 2005
APPEARANCES BY:
Hilary Evans Cameron FOR THE APPLICANTS
Tamrat Gebeyehu FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
VanderVennen Leher
Toronto, ON FOR THE APPLICANTS
John H. Sims, Q.C.
Deputy Attorney General of Canada FOR THE RESPONDENT