James v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)
Court headnote
James v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) Court (s) Database Federal Court Decisions Date 2004-05-06 Neutral citation 2004 FC 671 File numbers IMM-5046-03 Decision Content Date: 20040506 Docket: IMM-5046-03 Citation: 2004 FC 671 Toronto, Ontario, May 6th, 2004 Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice Campbell BETWEEN: DIANA JAMES Applicant and THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER [1] In the present case, the Applicant claims refugee status on the basis of subjective and objective fear of risk of persecution on gender grounds by her stepfather in St. Vincent. In support of her claim, the Applicant provided in her PIF a detailed account of horrendous sexual, physical and psychological abuse by him beginning when she was age 13. On her evidence, there were two incidents of sexual abuse: the first in 1989, and the second in 1991 when she was age 15 and just prior to her flight to Canada. [2] The IRB rejected the Applicant's claim on a negative credibility finding for only two reasons: a perceived discrepancy in the dates of the sexual assaults found between the Applicant's testimony at the hearing and her PIF; and a rejection of the Applicant's explanation for failing to file for refugee status for ten years after she arrived in Canada. [3] Given that there are only two narrow reasons given for disbelieving the detailed account of persecution supplied by the Applicant, in my opinion, if either are proved to be erroneous, th…
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James v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) Court (s) Database Federal Court Decisions Date 2004-05-06 Neutral citation 2004 FC 671 File numbers IMM-5046-03 Decision Content Date: 20040506 Docket: IMM-5046-03 Citation: 2004 FC 671 Toronto, Ontario, May 6th, 2004 Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice Campbell BETWEEN: DIANA JAMES Applicant and THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER [1] In the present case, the Applicant claims refugee status on the basis of subjective and objective fear of risk of persecution on gender grounds by her stepfather in St. Vincent. In support of her claim, the Applicant provided in her PIF a detailed account of horrendous sexual, physical and psychological abuse by him beginning when she was age 13. On her evidence, there were two incidents of sexual abuse: the first in 1989, and the second in 1991 when she was age 15 and just prior to her flight to Canada. [2] The IRB rejected the Applicant's claim on a negative credibility finding for only two reasons: a perceived discrepancy in the dates of the sexual assaults found between the Applicant's testimony at the hearing and her PIF; and a rejection of the Applicant's explanation for failing to file for refugee status for ten years after she arrived in Canada. [3] Given that there are only two narrow reasons given for disbelieving the detailed account of persecution supplied by the Applicant, in my opinion, if either are proved to be erroneous, the decision is patently unreasonable. In my opinion, this is so. [4] On a detailed examination of the transcript of the hearing before the IRB, I find it is impossible to come to the discrepancy conclusion the IRB reached; the conclusion reached is based on a misunderstanding of the evidence. ORDER Accordingly, I set aside the IRB's decision and refer this matter to a differently constituted panel for redetermination. "Douglas R. Campbell" J.F.C. FEDERAL COURT Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record DOCKET: IMM-5046-03 STYLE OF CAUSE: DIANA JAMES Applicant and THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO DATE OF HEARING: MAY 6, 2004 REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER BY: CAMPBELL J. DATED: MAY 6, 2004 APPEARANCES BY: Mr. Kingsley Jesuorobo FOR THE APPLICANT Mr. Robert Bafaro FOR THE RESPONDENT SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Mr. Kingsley Jesuorobo North York, Ontario FOR THE APPLICANT Morris Rosenberg Deputy Attorney General of Canada FOR THE RESPONDENT FEDERAL COURT Date: 20040506 Docket: IMM-5046-03 BETWEEN: DIANA JAMES Applicant and THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
Source: decisions.fct-cf.gc.ca