Date : 20050812
Docket: IMM-10389-04
Citation: 2005 FC 1090
BETWEEN:
PATOU MOTALIMBO MALONGI
(a.k.a. N'Koy Bokonji Atshabo)
Applicant
-and-
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
PINARD J.
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision by a Minister's delegate, dated December 5, 2004, issuing an exclusion order against the applicant.
[2] The relevant provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27 (the Act) are as follows:
| 20. (1) Every foreign national, other than a foreign national referred to in section 19, who seeks to enter or remain in Canada must establish, (a) to become a permanent resident, that they hold the visa or other document required under the regulations and have come to Canada in order to establish permanent residence; and
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20. (1) L'étranger non visé à l'article 19 qui cherche à entrer au Canada ou à y séjourner est tenu de prouver_: a) pour devenir un résident permanent, qu'il détient les visa ou autres documents réglementaires et vient s'y établir en permanence; |
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| (b) to become a temporary resident, that they hold the visa or other document required under the regulations and will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay. |
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b) pour devenir un résident temporaire, qu'il détient les visa ou autres documents requis par règlement et aura quitté le Canada à la fin de la période de séjour autorisée.
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| 41. A person is inadmissible for failing to comply with this Act (a) in the case of a foreign national, through an act or omission which contravenes, directly or indirectly, a provision of this Act; and (b) in the case of a permanent resident, through failing to comply with subsection 27(2) or section 28.
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41. S'agissant de l'étranger, emportent interdiction de territoire pour manquement à la présente loi tout fait - acte ou omission - commis directement ou indirectement en contravention avec la présente loi et, s'agissant du résident permanent, le manquement à l'obligation de résidence et aux conditions imposées. |
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| 44. (1) An officer who is of the opinion that a permanent resident or a foreign national who is in Canada is inadmissible may prepare a report setting out the relevant facts, which report shall be transmitted to the Minister.
(2) If the Minister is of the opinion that the report is well-founded, the Minister may refer the report to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing, except in the case of a permanent resident who is inadmissible solely on the grounds that they have failed to comply with the residency obligation under section 28 and except, in the circumstances prescribed by the regulations, in the case of a foreign national. In those cases, the Minister may make a removal order. |
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44. (1) S'il estime que le résident permanent ou l'étranger qui se trouve au Canada est interdit de territoire, l'agent peut établir un rapport circonstancié, qu'il transmet au ministre.
(2) S'il estime le rapport bien fondé, le ministre peut déférer l'affaire à la Section de l'immigration pour enquête, sauf s'il s'agit d'un résident permanent interdit de territoire pour le seul motif qu'il n'a pas respecté l'obligation de résidence ou, dans les circonstances visées par les règlements, d'un étranger; il peut alors prendre une mesure de renvoi.
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| 99. (3) A claim for refugee protection made by a person inside Canada must be made to an officer, may not be made by a person who is subject to a removal order, and is governed by this Part.
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99. (3) Celle de la personne se trouvant au Canada se fait à l'agent et est régie par la présente partie; toutefois la personne visée par une mesure de renvoi n'est pas admise à la faire.
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[3] The relevant provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227 (the Regulations) are as follows:
| 7. (1) A foreign national may not enter Canada to remain on a temporary basis without first obtaining a temporary resident visa.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a foreign national who (a) is exempted under Division 5 of Part 9 from the requirement to have a temporary resident visa; (b) holds a temporary resident permit issued under subsection 24(1) of the Act; or (c) is authorized under the Act or these Regulations to re-enter Canada to remain in Canada. |
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7. (1) L'étranger ne peut entrer au Canada pour y séjourner temporairement que s'il a préalablement un visa de résident temporaire .
(2) Cette obligation ne s'applique pas : a) à l'étranger dispensé, au titre de la section 5 de la partie 9, de l'obligation d'obtenir un visa de résident temporaire; b) au titulaire d'un permis de séjour temporaire délivré au titre du paragraphe 24(1) de la Loi; c) à tout étranger autorisé, en vertu de la Loi ou du présent règlement, à rentrer au Canada pour y séjourner. |
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| (3) In addition to any visa required under this section, a foreign national who is seeking to enter and remain in Canada on a temporary basis to receive medical treatment in the Province of Quebec must hold a certificat d'acceptation du Québec if the laws of that Province require the foreign national to hold that document.
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(3) En plus de tout visa qu'il doit obtenir aux termes du présent article, l'étranger qui cherche à entrer au Canada pour y séjourner temporairement afin de recevoir un traitement médical dans la province de Québec doit être titulaire du certificat d'acceptation exigé par la législation de cette province. |
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| 52. (1) In addition to the other requirements of these Regulations, a foreign national seeking to become a temporary resident must hold one of the following documents that is valid for the period authorized for their stay: (a) a passport that was issued by the country of which the foreign national is a citizen or national, that does not prohibit travel to Canada and that the foreign national may use to enter the country of issue; |
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52. (1) En plus de remplir les autres exigences réglementaires, l'étranger qui cherche à devenir résident temporaire doit détenir l'un des documents suivants, valide pour la période de séjour autorisée :
a) un passeport qui lui a été délivré par le pays dont il est citoyen ou ressortissant, qui ne lui interdit pas de voyager au Canada et grâce auquel il peut entrer dans le pays de délivrance; |
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| 236. A person against whom a removal order is made shall be provided with a copy of the order when it is made.
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236. Dès la prise d'une mesure de renvoi, une copie du texte de celle-ci est fournie à l'intéressé.
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[4] The Minister's delegate relied on section 41 and paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Act and on section 7 and paragraph 52(1)(a) of the Regulations to declare that the applicant was inadmissible.
[5] According to section 41 of the Act, a foreign national is inadmissible for failing to comply with the Act. According to paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Act, a foreign national, who seeks to enter or remain in Canada, must establish that they hold the visa or other documents required under the Regulations in order to become a permanent resident. Section 7 and paragraph 52(1)(a) of the Regulations require that the foreign national must obtain a temporary resident visa and that the foreign national have a passport that was issued by their country of citizenship.
[6] The applicant points out that subsection 20(1) contemplates the case of foreign nationals wishing to enter or remain in Canada as temporary residents. He submits that his intention when he entered Canada was to claim refugee status. However, according to the notes of the Minister's delegate, the applicant declared that he came to Canada to visit friends and that he had no problems in his native country. It is my opinion that paragraph 20(1)(b) applies to him. Further, the officer stated in his affidavit that it was only after the exclusion order was given verbally against the applicant that he actually stated that he had wanted to claim refugee status.
[7] The applicant had not obtained a temporary resident visa before coming to Canada, therefore there is a breach of section 7 of the Regulations. With respect to his passport, he had initially denied the fact that it was false, but in his affidavit, at paragraph 13, he admitted that it does not belong to him. The fact that the applicant admits that a passport was not issued to him places him in the category of a foreign national in breach of paragraph 52(1)(a) of the Regulations.
[8] Given that the applicant did not have a temporary resident visa before entering Canada and given his admission to the effect that the passport in his possession did not belong to him, it is my opinion that the Minister's delegate was entirely justified in finding that the applicant did not hold the documents required under the Regulations and that, accordingly, he was inadmissible under section 41 of the Act.
[9] It is also important to note that according to subsection 99(3) of the Act, a person who is subject to a removal may not make a claim for refugee protection.
[10] In the specific circumstances of this case, where the applicant first lied regarding the passport that he presented and where on three occasions he repeated that he did not have any problems in his native country, I believe that procedural fairness was preserved. As I already stated in Chen v. Canada (M.C.I.), [1998] F.C.J. No. 719, at paragraph 9:
. . . Surely, fundamental justice requires greater procedural protection for a refugee claimant whose credibility is at issue than for an individual who attempts to enter into Canada without the requisite documentation and who insists that she does not wish to claim refugee status. . . .
[11] Finally, with respect to the applicant's argument to the effect that section 44 of the Act was not respected given that there was neither a removal order, nor a report setting out the relevant facts in writing before the applicant changed his mind and claimed refugee protection, I find that this is unfounded. First, subsection (1) of section 44 of the Act does not require that the report setting out the relevant facts be in writing. In this case, the evidence indicates that the Minister's delegate was present with the immigration officer at the time of the applicant's statements regarding his passport and the absence of problems for him in his native country. Subsection (2) of section 44 does not further require that the removal order be in writing for it to be valid. In this case, the same Minister's delegate states at paragraph 11 of his affidavit, that he then made a verbal exclusion order against the applicant, while informing him of the consequences of that order. It is not disputed that this verbal order was made before the applicant later attempted to claim refugee status. In my view, the requirement of section 236 of the Regulations to the effect that when a removal order is made (the French reads: "Dès la prise d'une mesure de renvoi"), a copy of the order shall be provided to the person against whom the removal order was made, does not necessarily imply that the verbal removal order cannot come into effect unless it is first put into writing. If Parliament's intention had truly been to require that a removal order could not come into effect until it was in writing, it would have clearly said so in the Act, specifically in subsection 44(2) or subsection 99(3). In my view, section 236 of the Regulations simply prescribes a useful administrative tool.
[12] For all of these reasons, the application for judicial review is dismissed.
[13] The applicant proposes the following questions for certification:
(1) Must the preparation and findings of a report pursuant to section 44 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act be given to the interested party in writing for his or her comments or observations before an exclusion order is issued?
(2) Must the consequences of a section 44 report be explained before the exclusion order is made? Must persons be advised that a removal order will be issued against them so that they can raise their arguments or comments before the exclusion order is given? Does the duty to give notice include the right to consult a counsellor or a lawyer?
[14] Considering the specific facts of this case and the principles stated by the Federal Court of Appeal in Liyanagamage v. Canada (M.C.I.) (1994), 176 N.R. 4, I agree, in general, with the written submissions of the respondent filed in support of his position to the effect that the proposed questions ought not to be certified.
"Yvon Pinard"
Judge
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
August 12, 2005
Certified true translation
Kelley A. Harvey, BCL, LLB
FEDERAL COURT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: IMM-10389-04
STYLE OF CAUSE: PATOU MOTALIMBO MALONGI (a.k.a.. N'Koy Bokonji Atshabo) v. MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: June 30, 2005
REASONS FOR ORDER: The Honourable Mr. Justice Pinard
DATE OF REASONS : August 12, 2005
APPEARANCES :
Stewart Istvanffy FOR THE APPLICANT
François Joyal FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Stewart Istvanffy FOR THE APPLICANT
Montréal, Quebec
John H. Sims, Q.C. FOR THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada