Barua v. Canada (Minister of Public
Safety and Emergency Preparedness)
Safety and Emergency Preparedness)
Between
Rajib Barua, Applicant, and
The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness, Respondent
Rajib Barua, Applicant, and
The Minister of Public Safety and Emergency
Preparedness, Respondent
[2015] F.C.J. No. 152
2015 FC 172
Docket: IMM-5323-13
Federal Court
Calgary, Alberta
Boswell J.
Heard: November 26, 2014.
Judgment: February 12, 2015.
Docket: IMM-5323-13
Federal Court
Calgary, Alberta
Boswell J.
Heard: November 26, 2014.
Judgment: February 12, 2015.
(25 paras.)
JUDGMENT AND REASONS
·
BOSWELL J.:--
I. Nature of the Matter and Background
1 A
delegate of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness [the
Minister] ordered Mr. Barua [the Applicant] excluded from Canada pursuant to
subsection 44(2) of the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [the Act] and subparagraph 228(1)(c)(iii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations,
SOR/2002-227 [the Regulations].
Under subsection 72(1) of the Act,
the Applicant now applies for judicial review. He asks the Court to set aside
the exclusion order and return the matter for re-determination.
2 The
Applicant is now a 30 year-old citizen of Bangladesh. He first came to Canada
in 2004 as a student, and most recently had a work permit that was valid
until October 19, 2013. However, he left his job at a Petro Canada station in
British Columbia in March, 2013, and returned to Bangladesh to get married.
When he returned to Canada on June 22, 2013, he secured entry by presenting his
still valid work permit.
3 He
soon obtained an offer of employment at another Petro Canada station in the
Yukon, and so attended at a port of entry to apply for a new work permit
on August 1, 2013. He was interviewed by Border Services Officer [BSO] McGlenn,
who prepared a subsection 44(1) report, which recommended that he be excluded
from Canada. BSO McGlenn indicated in the report that she had concerns the
Applicant would not present himself for removal.
II. Decision under Review
4 The
matter then went to BSO Thompson, to whom the Minister has delegated the
authority to issue exclusion orders under subsection 44(2) of the Act.
5 BSO
Thompson interviewed the Applicant in the waning hours of August 1, 2013, and
set out his account of the interview in a declaration. According to BSO
Thompson, the Applicant admitted using his work visa to enter Canada in June
even knowing that there was no job to which he was returning. Furthermore, the
Applicant said that he intended to reside permanently in Canada, and that he
would not return to Bangladesh even if a return ticket were purchased for him,
as it would be harder to find employment there and he had limited resources.
6 This
was consistent with the details recorded by BSO McGlenn in the subsection 44(1)
report, so BSO Thompson concurred with her report. Paragraph 20(1)(a) of the Act requires a foreign national who seeks to
enter or remain in Canada with the intention of becoming a permanent resident
to have a visa to that effect, and paragraph 41(a) makes a foreign national
inadmissible for committing any "act or omission which contravenes,
directly or indirectly, a provision of this Act." BSO Thompson therefore
issued an exclusion order against the Applicant in the early morning of August
2, 2013. He also arrested the Applicant on the basis that it was unlikely that he
would voluntarily appear for removal.
III. The Parties' Submissions
The Applicant's
Arguments
7 The
Applicant says the primary issue is whether the BSOs properly considered
subsection 22(2) of the Act,
which permits people who intend to permanently immigrate to Canada to
nevertheless become temporary residents so long as they also intend to abide by
the law respecting temporary entry. According to the Applicant, the exclusion
order should not have been issued because there is no evidence that either BSO
considered the requisite dual intent.
8 The
Applicant says that he fit within that provision. Although he intended to
permanently reside in Canada, that intent was down the road once he had
complied with the requirements of the Act and Regulations. The
Applicant says that there is strong evidence to support that position, as he
was attending the port of entry precisely to obtain a valid work permit
and had obeyed the rules for nine years before the exclusion order was made.
The Applicant says that it was unreasonable for the BSOs not to consider this
favourable history of compliance, which far outweighs any of the comments that
he made after he was refused entry to Canada.
9 The
Applicant submits that this case is like Sibomana v
Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2012 FC 853, 13
Imm LR (4th) 61 [Sibomana], where
Mr. Justice Simon Noël allowed an application for judicial review on similar
facts. Indeed, the Applicant notes that he has been complying with the rules
for even longer than the applicants in Sibomana. Moreover, as in Sibomana, the Applicant says that the BSOs here should have relied upon
section 22 of the Act, rather
than paragraph 20(1)(a).
10 In
addition, the Applicant points out that the affidavits filed by the BSOs prior
to this hearing do not mention that they considered the requirement of dual
intent under section 22 of the Act, and so infers that it was not even considered.
The Respondent's
Arguments
11 The
Respondent notes that only the exclusion order has been challenged in this
judicial review application. The decision to deny the work permit was not
challenged and the old work permit has long since expired. The Respondent
also points out that the Applicant was given an opportunity to withdraw his
application to enter Canada, but he instead said he intended to remain in
Canada permanently.
12 The
Respondent states that the decision before the Court needs to be looked at in context.
The Applicant had re-entered Canada with his old work permit when the job
associated with that work permit had been terminated, and the Applicant
told BSO McGlenn that he was travelling alone but then his friend showed up.
These facts raised concerns about the Applicant's honesty.
13 In
light of this, the Respondent argues that the decision to issue the exclusion
order was reasonable and well within the range of acceptable and possible
outcomes. The Respondent submits that both BSOs asked the Applicant directly
about his intention to leave if ordered to and he answered that he had no such
intention, and that it was reasonable for them to rely on that statement. While
the Applicant has a slightly different story, the Respondent says that the BSOs'
notes should be preferred since they were recorded contemporaneously, unlike
the evidence in the Applicant's affidavit which was only sworn some time after
he was refused entry (Muthui v Canada (Citizenship and
Immigration), 2014 FC 105 at para 49 [Muthui]).
14 As
to the Applicant's argument that the BSOs do not refer to the requirement for
dual intent in their affidavits, the Respondent states that stating such would
have been inappropriate since they are not permitted to supplement the reasons
in the tribunal record.
IV. Issues and Analysis
Standard of Review
15 In
Sibomana at para 18, Justice Noël
applied the standard of reasonableness with respect to an exclusion order
issued under section 44(2) of the Act. Accordingly, the Court should not interfere if BSO Thompson's
decision is intelligible, transparent, justifiable, and falls within the range
of possible, acceptable outcomes that are defensible in respect of the facts
and the law. This Court can neither reweigh the evidence that was before the
BSO, nor substitute its own view of a preferable outcome: Dunsmuir v New Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9 at para
47, [2008] 1 SCR 190; Canada (Citizenship and
Immigration) v Khosa, 2009 SCC 12 at paras 59, 61,
[2009] 1 SCR 339.
Was the Border Services
Officer's Decision Reasonable?
16 The
Applicant attempted to buttress his arguments by providing some evidence in his
affidavit filed as part of his application record. For its part, the Respondent
filed affidavits of the two BSOs in this case. The general rule in this regard
is that the evidentiary record for purposes of a judicial review application is
restricted to that which was before the decision-maker (Association
of Universities and Colleges of Canada v Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency
(Access Copyright), 2012 FCA 22 at paras 19-20, 428 NR
297). Although there are some exceptions to this general rule, none apply to
the present case. Accordingly, the additional evidence adduced by the Applicant
and by the Respondent subsequent to the date of the decision to issue the
exclusion order should not and will not be considered by the Court in reviewing
such decision.
17 That
said, some of the Applicant's evidence was about what he said at the interview,
which is admissible because it was purportedly before the decision-maker (see
e.g. Vancouver Wharves Ltd v Canada (Attorney General), 137 FTR 65 at para 5, 3 Admin LR (3d) 159 (TD); Muthui at paras 48-49). However, where it
conflicts with the notes of the two BSOs, I prefer their notes because they
were recorded contemporaneously (Muthui at para 49).
18 The
Applicant's essential argument is that the decision to issue the exclusion
order was unreasonable since neither of the BSOs properly assessed the
Applicant's dual intent under section 22 of the Act. The Applicant further suggests that issuance of the exclusion order
on the basis of paragraph 20(1)(a) of the Act was not reasonable.
19 I
disagree with the Applicant that the factual circumstances of this case are
identical to those in Sibomana.
In Sibomana (as in this case),
the applicants had sought entry on the basis of a temporary work permit.
However, unlike the Applicant here, the applicants in Sibomana had stated that "although they considered the possibility of
obtaining permanent resident status, they intended to
leave the country when the temporary status expired"
(at para 28, emphasis added).
20 In
view of this express intention to leave the country, Mr. Justice Noël
determined in Sibomana that the delegate's
decision to issue the exclusion order under section 41 of the Act could not be justified or maintained under
paragraph 20(1)(a), as that paragraph applies only to entry to become a
permanent resident. Accordingly, since the exclusion order should have been
issued with reference to section 22, which applies to a temporary resident, the
exclusion order under review in Sibomana did not fall within a range of possible, acceptable outcomes
defensible in respect of the facts and law.
21 In
this case, the record before the Court shows that the Applicant had no
intention to leave the country upon expiry of a temporary work permit. The
notes of BSO McGlenn dated August 1, 2013 state as follows:
·
Subject was asked if he was
allowed into Canada would he depart Canada, subject replied "No Maam"
Subject stataed [sic] he has no
money to buy a ticket, subject was asked if a ticket was bought for him if he
would get on the airplane and return to Bangladesh, subject replied "no
maam there is no jobs for me in Bangladesh. Subject was asked if he intended to
remain in Canada permanently? He replied "yes"
The notes of BSO Thompson dated August 2, 2013, are
to similar effect:
·
BARUA was asked why he has not
yet applied for PR status in Canada, he responded because he had not met the
ILETS [sic] requirement
·
BARUA was asked if the
Work Permit application was refused would he leave Canada on his own,
BARUA responded "no sir, because I don't have the ticket fare."
·
BARUA was asked if a ticket were
purchased for him, would he leave. BARUA responded, "probably not sir, the
situation back home is not the same."
·
BARUA went on to say there are
no jobs there, his family depends on him and if he does not send money there is
no food
·
...
·
BARUA was arrested because he is
unlikely to appear for removal because:
BARUA has stated he will
not leave Canada
BARUA has stated even is
[sic] an airline ticket were
ourchased [sic] for him he will
not leave Canada...
22 In
view of the foregoing, it can hardly be said that the Applicant here had the
same intention as the applicants in Sibomana as noted above. If anything, the BSOs' notes show that the
Applicant's intention here was to enter on the basis that he would be staying
permanently, and this being so issuance of the exclusion order with reference
to paragraph 20(1)(a) was appropriate and reasonable. This section provides 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; ...
* * *
·
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;
23 The
fact that the Applicant had re-entered Canada on June 22, 2013 with his old
work permit, knowing his job associated with that work permit had
been terminated, and that he told BSO McGlenn that he was travelling alone but
then his friend showed up, in all likelihood heightened the BSOs' concerns
about the Applicant's intentions upon being allowed entry. Indeed, BSO McGlenn's
notes state that the Applicant had been "dishonest during exam,
withholding information," and that the Applicant had been afforded the
opportunity to withdraw his application for entry.
24 In
view of the foregoing, the decision to issue the exclusion order was reasonable
in the circumstances of this case. The reasons for such decision are
intelligible, transparent, and justifiable and the outcome falls within the
range of possible, acceptable outcomes which are defensible in respect of the
facts and the law.
V. Conclusion
25 In
the result, the Applicant's application for judicial review should be and is
hereby dismissed. Neither party suggested a question for certification; so, no
such question is certified.
JUDGMENT
THIS COURT'S JUDGMENT is that the application for judicial review is dismissed and that no serious
question of general importance is certified.
BOSWELL J.
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