Date: 20030702
Docket: IMM-3272-01
Citation: 2003 FC 818
Toronto, Ontario, July 2nd, 2003
Present: The Honourable Madam Justice Simpson
BETWEEN:
KENNETH RAYMOND AGBAKURU
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
[1] UPON the Applicant's application for judicial review of the decision of the Visa Officer (the "Officer") in Accra Ghana dated June 19, 2001 in which she denied the Applicant's request for a Visitor's Visa (the "Decision").
[2] AND UPON reviewing the material filed and hearing the submissions of counsel for both parties in Toronto on June 26, 2003.
[3] AND UPON noting that Applicant's counsel submitted that the Officer erred in that she took irrelevant factors into account including the Applicant's new and first passport, his lack of previous travel experience, his purchase of a house in Canada sight unseen, his desire to see the house, his need to be personally present to arrange fire insurance at his lawyer's request, the status of the Applicant's businesses in Ghana and the citizenship of the Applicant's Canadian lawyer (collectively the "Factors").
[4] AND UPON noting that Applicant's counsel's further submission that the former Immigration Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I-2 (the "Act") and Regulations did not expressly provide for the consideration of the Factors and therefore the Decision was patently unreasonable.
[5] AND UPON observing that the Act says in subsection 2(1) that a visitor is a person who seeks to come to Canada for a temporary purpose and in subsection 9(1.2) provides that a party applying for a visitor's visa shall satisfy a visa officer that the person is not an immigrant.
[6] AND UPON concluding that these provisions confer wide discretion and that the matters of relevance will vary depending on the facts of each particular case.
[7] AND UPON concluding that the Factors looked at in the context of the Applicant's visa application were relevant to his circumstances and to the information provided in his visa application.
[8] AND UPON noting that, with respect to his businesses in Ghana and the need for his personal attendance to arrange fire insurance, the Applicant did not provide the Officer with clear evidence to support his position that his businesses were ongoing and that an insurer had insisted that he apply for his fire insurance in person.
[9] AND HAVING reviewed all the submissions including the transcript of the cross-examination of the Officer on the affidavit she filed for this application, I have concluded that the Factors were relevant to an assessment of whether the Applicant's true intention was to visit Canada on a temporary basis.
[10] AND UPON noting that no question is posed for certification.
ORDER
NOW THEREFORE THIS COURT ORDERS that this application is hereby dismissed.
"Sandra J. Simpson"
J.F.C.C.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
DOCKET: IMM-3272-01
STYLE OF CAUSE: KENNETH RAYMOND AGBAKURU
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND
IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: JUNE 26, 2003
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER BY: SIMPSON, J.
DATED: JULY 2, 2003
APPEARANCES BY: Mr. Majekodunmi Adega
For the Applicant
Ms. A. Leena Jaakkimainen
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Majekodunmi Adega
Barrister and Solicitor
Toronto, Ontario
For the Applicant
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
For the Respondent
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Date: 20030702
Docket: IMM-3272-01
BETWEEN:
KENNETH RAYMOND AGBAKURU
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER