Federal Court Decisions

Date: 19971204

Docket: T-2462-96

BETWEEN:

     IN THE MATTER OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT

     R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29

     AND IN THE MATTER OF an appeal from the

     decision of a Citizenship Judge

     AND IN THE MATTER OF

     MARZIEH TAHERZADEH MOUSAVIAN

     Appellant

     REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

ROULEAU, J.

[1]      The appellant appeals the decision of a Citizenship Judge rendered on February 27, 1996, refusing her application for Canadian citizenship on the basis she did not have an adequate knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship as required by paragraph 5(1)(e) of the Citizenship Act. The Citizenship Judge also declined to make a recommendation under subsection 15(1) of the Act requesting that the Minister exercise her discretion under subsection 5(3) or 5(4) to grant citizenship on compassionate grounds or for reasons for special hardship.

[2]      The appellant was born in Hamedan, Iran, on April 1, 1947. She was granted landed immigrant status on December 18, 1991 with her family. In her Notice of Appeal, the appellant provided the following ground for appeal:

[3]      This appellant appeared before the Court at Toronto on November 18, 1997. The amicus curiae questioned her. Firstly as to her responsibilities and duties as a Canadian. Her answers were that she was to obey the laws of Canada, that she was to respect public as well as private property. Concerning rights and privileges, she said one of the privileges is to live in a democracy and the right of mobility, to come and go; she also mentioned the right to vote. She was then asked about political parties in Canada and she was able to name the Liberals, Progressive Conservatives and the N.D.P.; she knew that Ottawa is the Capital of Canada, that Mr. Chrétien is the Prime Minister and leads the Liberal party.

[4]      She was also aware that there are ten Provinces and two Territories. When asked which are the two largest provinces, she named Ontario. When asked to name the provinces, she was able to name nine. She was then asked what oceans surround Canada and she named all three, the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Arctic. Then she was asked about where she resided; she said she lives in Toronto in the province of Ontario, that it is the Capital of the Province, that the Premier is Mr. Harris and that he is the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party. She was also aware of the two official languages of Canada being English and French.

[5]      With the consent and the approbation of the amicus curiae, we were both satisfied that this appellant had studied diligently, considering the fact that she is a legally blind person and had never attended school. We are therefore recommending to the Minister that she exercise her discretion and grant citizenship.

     JUDGE

OTTAWA, Ontario

December 4, 1997