Date: 19990212
Docket: T-1547-98
Between :
Li Liang
Applicant
- and -
The Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration Canada
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
PINARD, J. :
[1] This is an appeal pursuant to subsection 14(5) of the Citizenship Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-29, (the "Act") of the decision of a Citizenship Judge, dated June 25, 1998, dismissing the applicant's application for Canadian citizenship. The Judge so decided on the ground that the applicant had not met the residence requirement under paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Act because she had been convicted of indictable offences under subsection 264(3) and paragraph 264(3)(a) of the Criminal Code respectively, for which the applicant was sentenced to a period of probation commencing August 11, 1994 until August 11, 1995 for one of these offences, and commencing May 1, 1996 until November 1, 1997, for the other offence.
[2] The applicant argues that she arrived in Canada in June 1990 and that she has therefore been a resident for 2,585 days. She also states that she was not convicted of indictable offences as they proceeded by way of summary conviction.
[3] The relevant period of residence in Canada for the purposes of the applicant's application for citizenship is between February 6, 1993 and February 6, 1997, the date of her application for citizenship. While it may be that the applicant arrived in Canada in June 1990, the period between then and February 6, 1993, is not to be used in the calculation for residence as directed by paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Act, which reads:
| 5. (1) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who [ . . . ] (c) has been lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence, has not ceased since such admission to be a permanent resident pursuant to section 24 of the Immigration Act, and has, within the four years immediately preceding the date of his application, accumulated at least three years of residence in Canada calculated in the following manner:
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5. (1) Le ministre attribue la citoyenneté à toute personne qui, à la fois : [ . . . ] c) a été légalement admise au Canada à titre de résident permanent, n'a pas depuis perdu ce titre en application de l'article 24 de la Loi sur l'immigration, et a, dans les quatre ans qui ont précédé la date de sa demande, résidé au Canada pendant au moins trois ans en tout, la durée de sa résidence étant calculée de la manière suivante :
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[4] Furthermore, it is not disputed that the applicant has been under a probation order, pursuant to the Criminal Code of Canada, between August 11, 1994 until August 11, 1995, and between May 1, 1996 until November 1, 1997. Given the clear and unambiguous language of subsection 21(a) of the Act, the above periods while the applicant was under a probation order are not to be counted in the calculation of her residence in Canada for the purpose of paragraph 5(1)(c). Subsection 21(a) of the Act states as follows:
| 21. Notwithstanding anything in this Act, no period may be counted as a period of residence for the purpose of this Act during which a person has been, pursuant to any enactment in force in Canada, (a) under a probation order; (b) a paroled inmate; or (c) confined in or been an inmate of any penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison. |
21. Malgré les autres dispositions de la présente loi, ne sont pas prises en compte pour la duré de résidence les périodes où, en application d'une disposition législative en vigueur au Canada, l'intéressé : a) a été sous le coup d'une ordonnance de probation; b) a bénéficié d'une libération conditionnelle; c) a été détenu dans un pénitencier, une prison ou une maison de correction. |
[5] Under the latter provision, it is not relevant whether a person has been under a probation order after having been convicted of an indictable offence or after having been found guilty of an offence by way of summary conviction.
[6] The above reasons are sufficient to confirm the decision of the Citizenship Judge refusing to grant citizenship to the applicant because she had been under probation for more than one year during the relevant period of four years preceding the date of her application for Canadian citizenship.
[7] Furthermore, the evidence before the Citizenship Judge showed that the conviction which was entered against the applicant on August 11, 1994 refers to her being tried under Part XIX of the Criminal Code. Part XIX deals with the procedure of indictable matters where an accused elects a trial without a jury. Therefore, the Citizenship Judge correctly applied the exclusion under paragraph 22(2)(a) of the Act, which reads:
| 22. (2) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, but subject to the Criminal Records Act, a person shall not be granted citizenship under section 5 or subsection 11(1) or take the oath of citizenship if, (a) during the three year period immediately preceding the date of the person's application, [ . . . ] the person has been convicted of an offence under subsection 29(2) or (3) or of an indictable offence under any Act of Parliament, other than an offence that is designated as a contravention under the Contraventions Act. |
22. Malgré les autres dispositions de la présente loi, mais sous réserve de la Loi sur le casier judiciaire, nul ne peut recevoir la citoyenneté au titre de l'article 5 ou du paragraphe 11(1) ni prêter le serment de citoyenneté s'il a été déclaré coupable d'une infraction prévue au paragraphe 29(2) ou (3) ou d'un acte criminel prévu par une loi fédérale, autre qu'une infraction qualifiée de contravention en vertu de la Loi sur les contraventions : a) au cours des trois ans précédant la date de sa demande; [ . . . ] |
[8] Consequently, the appeal is denied and the application for judicial review is dismissed.
[9] Given the particular circumstances of this case, there is no adjudication as to costs.
JUDGE
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
February 12, 1999