Docket: IMM-5774-15
Citation:
2016 FC 1149
Ottawa, Ontario, October 17, 2016
PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Russell
BETWEEN:
|
MUHAMMAD UMER
ARIF
|
Applicant
|
and
|
THE MINISTER OF
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
|
Respondent
|
JUDGMENT AND REASONS
I.
INTRODUCTION
[1]
This is an application under s 72(1) of the Immigration
and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [Act] for judicial review of
the decision of an immigration officer in the Case Processing Centre in
Vegreville [Visa Officer], dated December 8, 2015 [Decision], which denied the
Applicant’s application for a temporary resident permit and a study permit.
II.
BACKGROUND
[2]
The Applicant is a 21-year-old citizen of
Pakistan who was issued a study permit authorizing him to study in Canada from August
16, 2013 to November 30, 2014. During that period, he completed three semesters
of study at the International College of Manitoba [ICM] and was in the midst of
his fourth semester when the study permit expired and he lost his temporary
resident status. The Applicant intended to transfer to the University of
Manitoba upon completion of his studies at ICM, of which he has one course
remaining.
[3]
On December 5, 2014, the Applicant electronically
applied for an extension of his study permit. He electronically received a
request for the submission of an education transcript from ICM on March 23,
2015. The Applicant experienced technical difficulties and was unable to upload
the document by the deadline of March 30, 2015. The Applicant was then denied
the extension of his study permit on April 8, 2015 on the grounds that he had
not submitted his education transcript.
[4]
With the assistance of legal counsel, the
Applicant re-applied for an extension of his study permit on May 28, 2015. In
the second application, he noted his intention to change his study plans and attend
the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, where he had been accepted on
June 22, 2015. This second application was denied on September 25, 2015. The
Applicant sought judicial review of that decision but withdrew after receiving
notice on November 17, 2015 that the application would be re-opened due to the
receipt of new information before the refusal date.
III.
DECISION UNDER REVIEW
[5]
A decision sent from a Visa Officer to the
Applicant by letter dated December 8, 2015 refused to grant the Applicant a
temporary resident permit and a study permit.
[6]
The Visa Officer concluded that the Applicant
had not demonstrated sufficient reasons to justify the issuance of a temporary
resident permit. According to the Global Case Management System [GCMS] notes, the
Visa Officer was not satisfied that it would cause the Applicant undue hardship
to return to Pakistan and apply for a new study permit outside of Canada. The
Visa Officer based this decision on affidavits submitted by the Applicant’s
parents which contained assurances to financially support their son in his
studies and confirmed their net worth as $17 million. The Visa Officer also
considered that the Applicant was young, single, and had a valid passport.
Additionally, the Visa Officer noted that the Applicant’s loss of temporary
resident status was not above and beyond the Applicant’s control.
IV.
ISSUES
[7]
The Applicant submits in writing that the
following are at issue in this proceeding:
1. Whether there was a breach of natural justice due to the
incompetence of the Applicant’s former counsel;
2. Whether the Visa Officer who refused the application for a temporary
resident permit breached the principles of fairness and natural justice by:
i.
Not considering that the basis for refusal for
the first application, the non-submission of the Applicant’s education
transcript, was due to a technical problem that was not discovered until after
the application was refused;
ii.
Not considering that the refusal would prevent
the Applicant from completing his study program, amounting to undue hardship by
rendering futile the time, effort, and money expended on the prior years of
study since the Applicant cannot transfer or use the credits already earned
towards the completion of a university degree;
iii.
Not considering the lack of certainty regarding
the success of a new study permit application if the Applicant returns to
Pakistan, amounting to undue hardship if the Applicant is unable to return to
Canada for his studies;
iv.
Not considering that the refusal would interrupt
Applicant’s education for a significant amount of time, amounting to undue
hardship by delaying his ability to establish his career;
v.
Not considering that although the Applicant’s
parents may be financially able and willing to support the Applicant’s
education, this support is not unlimited and could be withdrawn due to the
refusal, amounting to undue hardship if the Applicant were to lose financial
support for his education;
vi.
Not considering the effect of the refusal on the
Applicant’s mental health due to the stress and trauma, amounting to undue
hardship; and
3. In the circumstances of this case, from a substantive perspective,
is the Visa Officer’s Decision unreasonable based upon his failure to consider
all the relevant evidence and law; and,
4. The Applicant also raises bias.
V.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
[8]
The Supreme Court of Canada in Dunsmuir v New
Brunswick, 2008 SCC 9 [Dunsmuir] held that a standard of review
analysis need not be conducted in every instance. Instead, where the standard
of review applicable to a particular question before the court is settled in a
satisfactory manner by past jurisprudence, the reviewing court may adopt that
standard of review. Only where this search proves fruitless, or where the
relevant precedents appear to be inconsistent with new developments in the
common law principles of judicial review, must the reviewing court undertake a
consideration of the four factors comprising the standard of review analysis: Agraira
v Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2013 SCC 36 at para
48.
[9]
The first issue concerns the Applicant’s right
to fully present his case, including an application for judicial review of an
immigration decision. This is an issue of procedural fairness and attracts the
standard of correctness: Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v Khosa,
2009 SCC 12 at para 43 [Khosa]; Mission Institution v Khela, 2014
SCC 24 at para 79; Galyas v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2013
FC 250 at para 27.
[10]
The second set of issues is not really about
procedural fairness and asks the Court to consider whether the Visa Officer
failed to take certain factors into account in rendering the Decision. These
issues are reviewable on a reasonableness basis.
[11]
The third issue regards a visa officer’s
assessment of an application for a temporary residence permit. This involves
questions of mixed fact and law and is reviewable using the standard of
reasonableness: Appidy v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC
1356 at para 5; Rehman v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC
1021 at para 13. Furthermore, as temporary resident permits are considered to
be an exceptional regime, the decision to grant one is highly discretionary and
this Court has held that considerable deference should be accorded to the
judgment of the visa officer: Farhat v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration), 2006 FC 1275 at paras 16 to 17 [Farhat]; Alvarez v
Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2011 FC 667 at para 18.
[12]
As a matter of procedural fairness, the bias
allegations will be reviewed under the standard of correctness: Khosa,
above, at para 43.
[13]
When reviewing a decision on the standard of
reasonableness, the analysis will be concerned with “the
existence of justification, transparency and intelligibility within the
decision-making process [and also with] whether the decision falls within a
range of possible, acceptable outcomes which are defensible in respect of the
facts and law.” See Dunsmuir, above, at para 47, and Khosa,
above, at para 59. Put another way, the Court should intervene only if the
Decision was unreasonable in the sense that it falls outside the “range of possible, acceptable outcomes which are defensible
in respect of the facts and law.”
VI.
STATUTORY PROVISIONS
[14]
The following provisions of the Act are relevant
in this proceeding:
Obligation
– answer truthfully
|
Obligation
du demandeur
|
16 (1) A
person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to
them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all
relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires.
|
16 (1)
L’auteur d’une demande au titre de la présente loi doit répondre
véridiquement aux questions qui lui sont posées lors du contrôle, donner les
renseignements et tous éléments de preuve pertinents et présenter les visa et
documents requis.
|
...
|
…
|
Temporary
resident permit
|
Permis de
séjour temporaire
|
24 (1) A foreign national
who, in the opinion of an officer, is inadmissible or does not meet the
requirements of this Act becomes a temporary resident if an officer is of the
opinion that it is justified in the circumstances and issues a temporary
resident permit, which may be cancelled at any time.
|
24 (1)
Devient résident temporaire l’étranger, dont l’agent estime qu’il est
interdit de territoire ou ne se conforme pas à la présente loi, à qui il
délivre, s’il estime que les circonstances le justifient, un permis de séjour
temporaire — titre révocable en tout temps.
|
…
|
…
|
Annual
report to Parliament
|
Rapport
annuel
|
94 (1) The
Minister must, on or before November 1 of each year or, if a House of
Parliament is not then sitting, within the next 30 days on which that House
is sitting after that date, table in each House of Parliament a report on the
operation of this Act in the preceding calendar year.
|
94 (1) Au
plus tard le 1er novembre ou dans les trente premiers jours de séance suivant
cette date, le ministre dépose devant chaque chambre du Parlement un rapport
sur l’application de la présente loi portant sur l’année civile précédente.
|
Contents
of report
|
Contenu du
rapport
|
(2) The
report shall include a description of:
|
(2) Le
rapport précise notamment :
|
…
|
…
|
(d) the
number of temporary resident permits issued under section 24, categorized
according to grounds of inadmissibility, if any;
|
d) le nombre
de permis de séjour temporaire délivrés au titre de l’article 24 et, le cas
échéant, les faits emportant interdiction de territoire;
|
VII.
ARGUMENTS
A.
Applicant
[15]
The Applicant submits that his former legal
counsel was incompetent and that the Visa Officer’s Decision was both procedurally
unfair and unreasonable.
[16]
After the denial of the Applicant’s first
application on September 8, the Applicant’s former legal counsel advised him to
re-apply rather than filing a judicial review application of the decision. The
Applicant’s first application failed due to a technical difficulty that was not
discovered until after the decision had already been made. Since refusals of
applications for temporary resident permits due to technical difficulties have
previously been set aside upon judicial review, as in Ni v Canada
(Citizenship and Immigration), 2014 FC 725 [Ni], the Applicant
believes his former legal counsel should have advised this remedy. Furthermore,
decisions to deny applications due to non-receipt of requested information have
also been previously set aside upon judicial review: Courtney v Canada
(Citizenship and Immigration), 2007 FC 252. The Applicant says that if he
had proceeded with an application for judicial review of the September 8
decision, such an application may have succeeded.
[17]
While the Applicant has not filed a complaint
with the Law Society of Manitoba, this is not compulsory for judicial review of
incompetent counsel: Kavihuha v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration),
2015 FC 328 at para 24. The only requirement is that the complaint must be bona
fide and adequate notice must be given to the former counsel, which the
Applicant provided after filing for the present judicial review. The reason for
the delay in notice is because the Applicant prioritized meeting the deadline
for the application of judicial review in the midst of changing counsel. Thus,
the Applicant seeks to review the April 8 refusal decision on the basis that he
was unaware of the availability of judicial review due to the negligent
incompetence of his former counsel.
[18]
Based on the written record in the GCMS notes,
the Applicant says the Visa Officer’s conclusion that the Applicant would not
suffer undue hardship if he was required to return to Pakistan and apply for a
new study permit is biased. The Applicant believes that the inclusion of his
family’s net worth as evidence elicited a hostile attitude against him. There
are many ways in which he will suffer undue hardship as a result of the
refusal: the entire process is deeply traumatizing and mentally stressful; the
success of obtaining a new study permit upon return to Pakistan is not
guaranteed; beginning the application process anew will further delay his
education and subsequent career; and although his family is wealthy, the
financial support is not limitless and may be withdrawn, thereby ending his
education and limiting his career prospects. Furthermore, the failure to allow
the Applicant to complete his degree program renders futile the time, effort,
and money expended on the prior years of study since the Applicant cannot
transfer or use the credits already earned towards the completion of a
university degree in Pakistan.
[19]
The Applicant says that a reasonable visa
officer would have considered that the reason for the April 8 decision was due
to a technical difficulty. The Applicant followed the instructions provided by
Citizenship and Immigration Canada [CIC] but was not able to electronically
submit the education transcript. Despite CIC’s encouragement for applicants to
use their electronic system for applications, there are problems associated
with CIC’s electronic processes that are known to this Court, as seen in Ni,
above. Furthermore, CIC does not allow applicants to submit documentation
related to online applications through non-electronic methods such as fax or
courier. The Applicant believes it was unreasonable for his application to be
refused when the reason for his failure to submit the requested document was
due to errors in CIC’s in electronic system and the lack of an alternative
method to make submissions.
B.
Respondent
[20]
The Respondent says the Applicant’s argument on
the alleged incompetence of counsel should be dismissed. The Respondent also
submits that the Visa Officer’s Decision and reasons as detailed in the GCMS
notes are neither procedurally unfair nor unreasonable.
[21]
There is no evidence that the Applicant’s former
counsel’s alleged incompetence led to the refusal of the study permit or
temporary resident permit. The Applicant admitted his study permit lapsed as a
result of his own inadvertence. The Applicant’s failure to re-apply for the
study permit within the specified time period and subsequent attempts to file
documentation are unrelated to the allegations against his former counsel,
which was a failure to file for judicial review and occurred after the
rejection of his study permit.
[22]
Additionally, the Applicant has not met the high
threshold governing the circumstances under which the Court will grant relief
on the basis of the negligence of counsel. The relevant case law states that
the negligence must be sufficiently supported by evidence and the legal counsel
must be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations such as through
notice to the governing body: see R v GDB, 2000 SCC 22 at para 26 [GDB];
Shirwa v
Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration), [1994] 2 FC 51
(TD); Pusuma v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2012 FC 1025 at
paras 55-56. The Applicant has not demonstrated evidence that his former
legal counsel was provided an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The
case law also provides that the incompetence of counsel will only constitute a
breach of natural justice in extraordinary circumstances and where there is a
reasonable probability that the result would have been different but for the
incompetence: see GDB, above. Furthermore, despite claims that he
suffered undue hardship, the Applicant also has not provided any evidence that
the result of his application would have been any different without his former
counsel’s alleged incompetence.
[23]
The refusal letter and GCMS notes show that the
Visa Officer reasonably concluded from the Applicant’s file that there were insufficient
reasons to justify the issuance of a temporary residence permit. The Visa
Officer considered the Applicant’s familial financial support and that he was
young, single, and had a valid passport in concluding that it would not cause
undue hardship to require the Applicant to return home and apply for a new
study permit outside of Canada. In the context of a temporary resident permit
application, the requirements for procedural fairness are relatively minimal
when there is no evidence of serious consequences to the Applicant: Qin v
Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2002 FCT 1154 at para 5.
[24]
Furthermore, the temporary resident permit
regime is considered an exceptional regime and highly discretionary. See Farhat,
above, at paras 22-24. Temporary resident permits are issued
cautiously as the number issued must be reported annually to Parliament [Act, s 94(2)(d)].
The applicant also bears the burden of providing sufficient reasons to justify
the issue of a temporary resident permit [Act, s 16(1)], which the Applicant
did not provide. Thus, the Visa Officer’s decision to deny the issuance of
a temporary resident permit without evidence of undue hardship caused by a
requirement to leave and apply for a new study permit outside of Canada is not
unreasonable.
VIII.
ANALYSIS
[25]
In his written submissions, the Applicant makes
serious allegations of negligence against his former counsel. He says that his
former counsel was negligent in not applying to this Court for judicial review
of a negative Restoration and Study Permit decision dated April 8, 2015.
[26]
The present application deals with a refusal to
grant the Applicant a temporary resident permit [TRP] dated December 8, 2015.
Whether or not former counsel was negligent in failing to seek judicial review
of the April 8, 2015 decision (and I make no findings in this regard) is simply
irrelevant to a review of the December 8, 2015 Decision.
[27]
As regards the Decision under review, the
Applicant, in his written submissions, simply makes a series of bald,
unexplained and unsupported allegations:
[32] It is submitted that the Officer
erred on assessment of the application that were not based on reasonable
inferences drawn from the known facts, and therefore the decision is
unreasonable.
[33] In the event that the leave is
granted, the application for judicial review is to be based on the following
grounds:
a. The Officer acted without jurisdiction, acted beyond his/her
jurisdiction or refused to exercise his-her jurisdiction.
b. The Officer failed to observe a principle of natural justice,
procedural fairness or other procedure that he/she was required by law to
observe.
c. The Officer erred in law in making decision [sic] or an
order, whether or not the error appears on the face of the record.
d. The Officer based his/her decision or order on an erroneous
finding of fact that he/she made in a perverse or capricious manner or without
regard for the materials before him/her, in particular the finding that the
employment offer was not genuine.
e. The Officer did not treat the applicants fairly, and failed to
provide the applicants with any procedural safeguards, including providing full
disclosure, and allowing the applicant full opportunity to cross-examine on any
evidence alleged against the applicant.
f. The Officer abused the process by taking irrelevant
considerations into account and further, the said decision maker (Officer)
failed to properly execute his/her discretion, fettered his/her discretion, and
abused his/her discretion by using it for an improper purpose.
g. The Officer exhibited bias against the applicant &
therefore, the impugned decision cannot be allowed to stand.
h. The Officer denied the applicant improperly, his right to a
properly constituted hearing, conducted accordingly to all of the proper
judicial principles, and applying all of the proper rules of evidence &
procedure.
i. The Officer failed to follow the rules of audi ulterum
partem, hearing both sides; that the decision was against the evidence and
the weight of evidence, that he/she as decision maker failed to act judicially,
in all of the circumstances; and that he/she as decision maker based his/her
decision on undisclosed factors and assumptions, that were not made known to
the applicant.
j. The Officer acted in any other way that was contrary to law.
k. Based on the above analysis, the Officer clearly failed to
observe the principles of natural justice & procedural fairness & based
his/her decisions on erroneous findings, without regard for the materials
before him/her.
[28]
The Decision is set out and fully explained in
the letter of December 8, 2015 and the relevant GCMS notes:
2015/09/25: Client entered Canada on 16 Aug
2013 on a valid study permit. Status expired 30 Nov 2014. Client states in a
letter that he had planned to take a semester off school and go home. He
submitted an application for an extension of his study permit via e-app. It was
received 05 Dec 2015 [sic], after his status expired. An officer reviewed the
application and requested additional information. The client did not submit the
requested information by the deadline requested and the application was
refused. The client is currently out of status and not restorable. The client
was advised to leave Canada. An application for a TRP and SP was received on 01
Jun 2015. The client states that he wants to remain in Canada to finish his
studies. He has submitted proof that his parents have property and business worth
7 and 10 million dollars respectively. He is young and single and has a valid
passport. It would undermine the integrity of the immigration system if the
lack of a visa or valid temporary visitor, student or worker status could be overcome
by issuance of a temporary resident permit. I am not satisfied that it would
cause the client undue hardship financially to go home and apply for a new
study permit and visa outside of Canada. This situation was not above and
beyond the client’s control. He has not demonstrated sufficient reasons to justify
the issuance of a Temporary Resident Permit. Application refused. Client
advised to leave Canada.
2015/12/08: This application was re-opened
as additional information as received on 15 Jul 2015, prior to the refusal
date. It included a LOA, a copy of receipt #R125588997, a letter from the rep
advising of the client’s course of studies and stating that his parents will
support his studies. This additional information does not give any additional
reasons why the student would not be able to leave Canada and apply from
outside Canada or any undue hardship he would endure if he was required to do
so. He has not demonstrated sufficient reasons to justify the issuance of a
Temporary Resident Permit. Application refused. Client advised to leave Canada.
[29]
Notwithstanding his fairly voluminous written
submissions, by the time of the hearing before me in Saskatoon on September 15,
2016, the Applicant had distilled his allegations of unreasonableness to a single
ground: given that his application for an extension of his study permit had
been rejected because – for reasons beyond his control – he had not been able
to submit his education transcripts within the seven-day deadline imposed by
CIC – the Visa Officer had all that was required to grant a TRP. The
Applicant had provided transcripts and demonstrated that he was a genuine
student, and to refuse him a TRP meant that 2 years of expensive education
would be potentially wasted. The Applicant also raised a new ground of review
before me. He now also says that the Visa Officer made a legal error when he
used an “undue hardship” test to decide the TRP application. He says that the
proper test is set out in Ali v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and
Immigration), 2008 FC 784 at paras 12 and 17 [Ali] and Rodgers v
Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2006 FC 1093 at paras 9
to 11.
[30]
Under past jurisprudence, a visa officer is only
required to consider whether the relevant circumstances justify the issuance or
refusal of a TRP: see Ali, above, at para 12. The relevant circumstances
that can be considered are varied, including family ties and the interests of a
minor, other pending applications under the Act, and previous immigration
history: Ali, above, at para 12; Betesh v Canada (Minister of Citizenship
and Immigration), 2008 FC 1374 at para 58; Farhat, above, at paras
23 to 24). In this case, the possibility or lack of undue hardship faced by the
Applicant is relevant to the application and is a circumstance the Visa Officer
was entitled to consider in deciding the TRP application.
[31]
For the purposes of the present application, the
Applicant has provided a Supplemental Affidavit which sets out the narrative of
his attempts to complete his education in Canada and the difficulties he will
face if he now has to return to Pakistan and apply for a new study permit. I
have no reason to disbelieve anything in this Supplemental Affidavit, and I
certainly have considerable sympathy for the Applicant whose correspondence
with Canadian officials reveals him to be academically bright, honest, urbane
and totally cooperative in any way required. However, sympathy is not a ground
of judicial review, and I cannot grant this application unless the Applicant
can establish a reviewable error in the Decision.
[32]
The Supplemental Affidavit that is before me was
not before the Visa Officer. I can only assess the reasonableness of the Visa Officer’s
Decision against the evidence and submissions that the Applicant placed before him.
This is not a de novo hearing. It is a judicial review and, unless the
Court is dealing with some form of procedural unfairness, the only relevant
evidence is the material that was before the Visa Officer and upon which he
based his Decision: see Castillo Afable v Canada (Citizenship and
Immigration), 2010 FC 1317 at para 22; Chopra v Canada (Treasury Board),
[1999] FCJ No 835 (FCTD) at para 5.
[33]
In his submissions to the Visa Officer, the
Applicant sets out his educational history and then makes the following points:
As my study permit was nearing its
expiration date (November 30th, 2014) I had decided that I would
take a semester off of school to go home and spend some time with my family. I
began to apply for my extension with CIC and since I have not used their online
site before, I enlisted the help of friends who have previously applied for
their Study Permits on their own. A friend of mine offered to help and had
uploaded all my documents to the CIC online portal.
As my friend was still helping me fill out
my application, CIC asked that I upload my transcript to their website. My
friend attempted many times to upload the document, but for unknown reasons it
just would not go through. I called the CIC helpline to see if they could
figure out why it was not uploading but unfortunately they did not know what
the issue was and they were unable to resolve it. I myself could not understand
and began to get nervous as my expiration date was close and I did not want to
lose my opportunity at a better education. After further inspection, I realized
CIC had provided me with a link via email in which I could upload the document
onto a different website. I then received a refusal letter dated April 8, 2015.
Having attended the International College of
Manitoba for four consecutive semesters, I decided that I want to go to the
Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology. I have been accepted into their
Industrial Mechanics Program. Subject to approval of my Study Permit, classes
with [sic] commence on the 27th of July, 2015. Moreover, my
English courses will start on August 8th, 2015. I have full
financial support from my parents and so all I need now is to be approved for
my study permit so that I may be allowed to attend my classes when they have
commenced.
One might say it was pure negligence on my
part because I should have been more alert and taken this matter into my own
hands. I understand and take full responsibility for my actions as I did not
realize that this would cause me to be refused of my study permit. I was
foolish as to believe that I could be dependent on others to do things for me
as at the time, I was not sure of myself and my own capabilities. I am fully
aware that I have made a very big mistake and I am not sure that it can be
fixed. All I can do is be responsible for my actions and kindly request for a
chance to be allowed to continue my education.
As a student here in Canada I have been
doing well in my studies and my academics will show the same about me. While on
my previous study permit, I have attended classes regularly because I am truly
serious about the career path I have laid out for myself here in Canada. I
cannot allow my negligence or ignorance to spoil my chances at a better
education, which will allow me to have a better life.
As most people are well aware of the living
conditions of Pakistan, going back to my home country will not help shape my
future for the better in any way. I hope that you can understand the reason I
am submitting my application for a study permit. I speak from my heart when I
say that I have the best interest for myself to complete my bachelor degree
once I have completed my diploma here in Canada. Hence the reason I do need
this chance to be given to me. I hope that you will consider my application for
a study permit and grant me this amazing opportunity to get a world class
education.
[34]
There is little in these submissions to assist
the Visa Officer in making a decision under s 24(1) of the Act, which
reads as follows:
24 (1) A foreign
national who, in the opinion of an officer, is inadmissible or does not meet
the requirements of this Act becomes a temporary resident if an officer is of
the opinion that it is justified in the circumstances and issues a temporary
resident permit, which may be cancelled at any time.
|
24 (1) Devient
résident temporaire l’étranger, dont l’agent estime qu’il est interdit de
territoire ou ne se conforme pas à la présente loi, à qui il délivre, s’il
estime que les circonstances le justifient, un permis de séjour temporaire —
titre révocable en tout temps.
|
[35]
It is well-established that a decision under s
24(1) is highly discretionary and that a negative TRP decision would have to be
highly irregular to justify intervention by the Court. See Nasso v Canada
(Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2008 FC 1003 at para 13.
[36]
Given the submissions before him, the Visa Officer’s
Decision cannot be called irregular in any way, let alone “highly irregular.”
The Decision is transparent and intelligible and does not fall outside the
range of possible, acceptable outcomes which are defensible in respect of the
facts and law. See Dunsmuir, above, at para 47. It is also notably
responsive to the information (and the lack of information) evident in the
Applicant’s letter of May 28, 2015.
[37]
It is also clear from the Decision that the Visa
Officer did not apply a general “undue hardship” test. He simply noted that the
Applicant’s parents appear to be wealthy and that the Applicant has not
established any undue hardship if he has to go home and apply for a new study
permit. The main problem is that the Applicant “has not
demonstrated sufficient reasons to justify the issuance of a Temporary
Residence Permit.” This is not an unreasonable assessment of the Applicant’s
submissions to the Visa Officer. As required by s 24(1), there is nothing to
suggest that the Visa Officer does not consider all of the submissions made to
him or fails to consider whether a TRP “is justified in
all the circumstances.”
[38]
Nor is there any relevant procedural unfairness
or an apprehension of bias.
[39]
The Applicant has failed to establish any
reviewable error in this case, which means that I cannot grant him the relief
he seeks in this application. However, this case remains highly sympathetic. On
the record before me, it would appear that the only reason the Applicant’s
request for an extension of his study permit could not be granted was because
the Applicant was unable to provide his educational transcripts in the very
short deadline he was given between March 23, 2015 and March 30, 2015. The
Applicant applied for an extension of his study permit on December 5, 2014. The
Applicant obtained the requested documents in time and he tried to submit them
electronically. CIC say they were not received, but it is unclear why not. We
just do not have the details of any technical problem.
[40]
The Applicant did re-apply for an extension of
his study permit explaining the problems he had encountered and providing the documents
requested to CIC. This application was rejected in September 2015, and then
again on December 8, 2015 after it was re-opened because of an administrative
error. The apparent reason for the rejection was that the Applicant had not
provided additional reasons as to why he was not able to leave Canada and apply
from outside “or any undue hardship he would endure if
he was required to do so.”
[41]
The Applicant says that, as a result of this
Decision, he has invested two and a half years in pursuing his education in
Canada, which is not yet complete, and he has not been able to graduate, and he
cannot transfer his credits to a Pakistan university. This is why he sought a TPR
and a study permit so that he could complete his studies.
[42]
His having to now return to Pakistan to re-apply
for a study permit does seem somewhat unfair and unnecessary to me given that
his failure to provide the transcripts on short notice appears, on the evidence
before me, to have resulted from some technical glitch for which the Applicant
may not be responsible.
[43]
While I can find no reviewable error with the
TRP Decision under review, if there is some way that the Applicant’s situation
can be re-assessed and re-considered, I urge that it be done. It seems
pointless to me, and unflattering to Canada, to require him to go back to
Pakistan and apply again if the only problem was that he failed to submit his
educational transcripts within a short deadline because of some kind of
technical problem in communication that was beyond his control. However, I do
not have all of the facts and this is not something I can order to be done.
[44]
Counsel agree there is no question for certification
and I concur.