Date: 20081014
Docket: IMM-895-08
Citation: 2008 FC 1157
Ottawa, Ontario, October 14, 2008
PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice O'Reilly
BETWEEN:
SHAHROKH
MOHAMMADI
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT AND JUDGMENT
[1]
Mr. Shahrokh Mohammadi, originally from Iran, now lives in Indonesia
where he works for the United Nations Development Program. In 2004, Mr.
Mohammadi applied to become a permanent resident of Canada under the federal
skilled workers program. An immigration officer in Singapore reviewed his
application and assessed him 64 points on the applicable scale, three points
short of the 67 he needed to succeed. Mr. Mohammadi argues that the officer
erred in her assessment of his educational credits by granting him only 22
points in that category when he deserved 25. Had the officer assessed him
correctly, he argues, he would have obtained the three extra points that he
needed to qualify for permanent residence. Mr. Mohammadi asks me to overturn the
officer’s decision and order that his application be re-assessed by another officer.
[2]
I agree with Mr. Mohammadi that the officer erred and will, therefore,
grant this application for judicial review.
[3]
The sole question to be decided is whether the officer’s assessment of
Mr. Mohammadi’s education credits was unreasonable.
I.
Factual Background
[4]
Mr. Mohammadi attended the American University of Beirut after
completing twelve years of primary and secondary education. He was enrolled at
AUB for a total of six years from 1967 to 1973. He started out in natural
sciences then switched to political science which, he says, explains why it
took longer than the usual four years to complete his BA. Later, in 1985, he
obtained an MA from New York University after pursuing five years of part time
studies while working for the United Nations.
[5]
To obtain 25 points for education, Mr. Mohammadi had to show that he had
obtained an MA and had completed at least 17 years of full-time study (Immigration
and Refugee Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227, s. 78(2); see Annex). The
officer accepted that Mr. Mohammadi had spent 12 years in primary and secondary
school and granted him an additional year for his MA. However, the officer only
credited Mr. Mohammadi for two of the six years that he had spent at AUB. That
left him two years short of the 17 he needed to qualify for 25 education
points.
[6]
The officer’s notes indicate that, on reviewing Mr. Mohammadi’s AUB
transcript, she concluded that some of the courses he had followed were not
part of the BA program, but were credits that he needed to acquire before he
could gain entry to it. She felt that “if his primary and secondary studies
were not up to level for him to enter directly to a regular BA program in the
university, this is not to be counted as extra years.”
II. Was
the Officer’s Decision Reasonable?
[7]
The Minister argues that the officer’s conclusion was reasonable
because, looking carefully at Mr. Mohammadi’s AUB transcript, it is clear that
he had to repeat some of the courses that he took during his first two years.
He should not be able to obtain credit for courses he took a second or third
time.
[8]
True, it appears that Mr. Mohammadi repeated a total of four courses:
Physics 101, Math 201, Chemistry 218 and Chemistry 219. In fact, he took Math
201 a total of three times. In all cases where he repeated a course, he was
able to elevate his grades from Ds to Cs or higher.
[9]
I see two problems with the Minister’s submission on this point. First,
it is not at all clear that the officer was concerned about courses Mr.
Mohammadi had repeated. Rather, her notes suggest that she thought many of the
courses Mr. Mohammadi took were not university-level courses at all. There is
nothing in the record to support that conclusion. The officer noted that some
of the courses were labeled on the transcript as “special” or “junior”, but the
former were courses taken during the summer and the latter were second-year
courses. There appears to be no basis for excluding them. Second, even if the
officer felt that the repeated courses should not be counted as post-secondary
credits, she should still have granted him more than a total of two years. She
only counted the two years of upper-year courses he had taken after switching
from natural sciences to political science.
[10]
In my view, therefore, the officer’s conclusion was unreasonable as it
was out of keeping with the evidence before her.
III. Conclusion
[11]
The officer’s basis for denying Mr. Mohammadi 25 education points is not
supported by the evidence. Therefore, I will grant this application for
judicial review and order that another officer re-assess his application. Given
that it is only the education credits that are in issue, the
re-assessment should be confined to
that part of his application.
[12]
Neither party proposed a question for certification, and none is stated.
JUDGMENT
THIS COURT’S JUDGMENT IS
that :
1.
The
application for judicial review is allowed. The matter is referred back to another
officer for a re-assessment of the education credits that are in issue;
2.
No question of general importance is stated.
“James
W. O’Reilly”
Annexe “A”
|
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations,
SOR/2002-227
Education (25 points)
78(2) A maximum of 25 points shall be awarded for
a skilled worker's education as follows:
(a) 5 points for a
secondary school educational credential;
(b) 12 points for a
one-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university
educational credential, and a total of at least 12 years of completed
full-time or full-time equivalent studies;
(c) 15 points for
(i) a one-year post-secondary
educational credential, other than a university educational credential, and a
total of at least 13 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent
studies, or
(ii) a one-year university
educational credential at the bachelor's level and a total of at least 13
years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies;
(d) 20 points for
(i) a two-year post-secondary
educational credential, other than a university educational credential, and a
total of at least 14 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent
studies, or
(ii) a two-year university
educational credential at the bachelor's level and a total of at least 14
years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies;
(e) 22 points for
(i) a three-year post-secondary
educational credential, other than a university educational credential, and a
total of at least 15 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent
studies, or
(ii) two or more university
educational credentials at the bachelor's level and a total of at least 15
years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies; and
(f) 25 points for a
university educational credential at the master's or doctoral level and a
total of at least 17 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent
studies.
|
Règlement sur l’immigration et la protection
des réfugiés, DORS/2002-227
Études (25 points)
78(2) Un maximum de 25 points
d’appréciation sont attribués pour les études du travailleur qualifié selon
la grille suivante :
a) 5 points, s’il a
obtenu un diplôme d’études secondaires;
b) 12 points, s’il a
obtenu un diplôme postsecondaire — autre qu’un diplôme universitaire —
nécessitant une année d’études et a accumulé un total d’au moins douze années
d’études à temps plein complètes ou l’équivalent temps plein;
c) 15 points, si, selon
le cas :
(i) il a obtenu un diplôme
postsecondaire — autre qu’un diplôme universitaire — nécessitant une année
d’études et a accumulé un total de treize années d’études à temps plein
complètes ou l’équivalent temps plein,
(ii) il a obtenu un diplôme
universitaire de premier cycle nécessitant une année d’études et a accumulé
un total d’au moins treize années d’études à temps plein complètes ou
l’équivalent temps plein;
d) 20 points, si, selon
le cas :
(i) il a obtenu un diplôme
postsecondaire — autre qu’un diplôme universitaire — nécessitant deux années
d’études et a accumulé un total de quatorze années d’études à temps plein complètes
ou l’équivalent temps plein,
(ii) il a obtenu un diplôme
universitaire de premier cycle nécessitant deux années d’études et a accumulé
un total d’au moins quatorze années d’études à temps plein complètes ou
l’équivalent temps plein;
e) 22 points, si, selon
le cas :
(i) il a obtenu un diplôme
postsecondaire — autre qu’un diplôme universitaire — nécessitant trois années
d’études à temps plein et a accumulé un total de quinze années d’études à
temps plein complètes ou l’équivalent temps plein,
(ii) il a obtenu au moins deux
diplômes universitaires de premier cycle et a accumulé un total d’au moins
quinze années d’études à temps plein complètes ou l’équivalent temps plein;
f) 25 points, s’il a
obtenu un diplôme universitaire de deuxième ou de troisième cycle et a
accumulé un total d’au moins dix-sept années d’études à temps plein complètes
ou l’équivalent temps plein.
|
Email this Content