Date: 20030711
Docket: IMM-3493-02
Citation: 2003 FC 841
Between:
DOMECQ JEAN
MARIE LORAINE JEAN CHARLOTIN
FARRAH DOMINIQUE JEAN
RODY JEAN
JUDE MARC JEAN
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 the Convention Refugee Determination Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (the CRDD) dated June 20, 2002, determining that the applicants are not Convention refugees as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Immigration Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. I-2.
[2] The applicants are citizens of Haiti. The principal applicant (the applicant) claims to have a well-founded fear of persecution in that country by reason of his political opinion. His wife and three minor children base their claim on his.
[3] The CRDD found that the applicant's testimony was devoid of credibility because he contradicted himself on a fundamental aspect of his claim.
[4] The CRDD also found that neither the applicant nor his wife had a subjective fear of persecution in Haiti, because both of them returned to that country after a stay in Canada without claiming refugee status. The explanation provided by the applicant's spouse for her return to Haiti was that her presence was necessary for the children, in turn, to be granted visitor visas. The applicant and his wife had already obtained their visas because they had planned a trip to Canada before the alleged persecution began. According to the applicant's spouse, her own visa could not be renewed unless she went to Canada, and a renewal was necessary before her ultimate departure to Canada.
[5] In my view, the CRDD did not err in finding this explanation unsatisfactory under the circumstances. It was entirely within its purview to find that a voluntary return to Haiti was incompatible with a genuine fear of persecution (see Caballero et al. v. Canada (M.E.I.) (1993), 154 N.R. 345 (F.C.A.) and Safakhoo v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (April 11, 1997), IMM-455-96 (F.C.T.D.)).
[6] Although the CRDD's assessment may have overemphasized the contradiction in the applicant's testimony as to the date of the second ballot in Haiti, the fact remains that in the absence of a subjective fear, a refugee claim cannot succeed.
[7] For these reasons, the application for judicial review is dismissed.
JUDGE
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
July 11, 2003
Certified true translation
Mary Jo Egan, LLB
FEDERAL COURT
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: IMM-3493-02
STYLE OF CAUSE: DOMECQ JEAN, MARIE LORAINE JEAN CHARLOTIN, FARRAH DOMINIQUE JEAN, RODY JEAN, JUDE MARC JEAN v. Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: June 17, 2003
REASONS FOR ORDER BY: The Honourable Mr. Justice Pinard
DATED: July 11, 2003
APPEARANCES:
Luc Desmarais FOR THE APPLICANT
Martine Valois FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Luc R. Desmarais FOR THE APPLICANT
Montréal, Quebec
Morris Rosenberg FOR THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
Date: 20030711
Docket: IMM-3493-02
Ottawa, Ontario, the 11th day of July 2003
Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice Pinard
Between:
DOMECQ JEAN
MARIE LORAINE JEAN CHARLOTIN
FARRAH DOMINIQUE JEAN
RODY JEAN
JUDE MARC JEAN
Applicant
- and -
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
Respondent
ORDER
The application for judicial review of the decision by the Convention Refugee Determination Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board dated June 20, 2002, determining that the applicants are not Convention refugees is dismissed.
JUDGE
Certified true translation
Mary Jo Egan, LLB