Date: 19980420
Docket: T-1571-97
BETWEEN:
IN THE MATTER OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT,
R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29
AND IN THE MATTER OF an appeal from the
decision of a Citizenship Judge
AND IN THE MATTER OF
Van Hong Thi Le,
Appellant.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
(Delivered orally from the Bench
on March 17, 1998, as edited)
MCKEOWN J.
[1] This matter came before me at Toronto on March 17, 1998. The appellant appeals the decision of a Citizenship Court Judge, dated June 18, 1997, refusing her application for Canadian citizenship on the basis that she did not have an adequate knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, as required by subsection 5(1)(e) of the Citizenship Act.
[2] The Citizenship Judge also declined to make a recommendation under subsection 15(1) of the Act, requesting that the Minister exercise her discretion under subsections 5(3) or 5(4) to grant citizenship on compassionate grounds or for reasons of special hardship.
[3] The appellant was born in Vietnam on March 18, 1965. She arrived in Canada on July 20, 1993, and was granted landed immigrant status. She is married and her husband is a citizen.
[4] She appeared before me and had considerable difficulty answering questions posed by the Amicus Curiae. The appellant knew that the capital of Canada was Ottawa and that there were ten provinces and two territories; she could identify the two territories. She could not identify the two provinces with the largest population, nor the Prime Minister of Canada. She was unable to answer questions as to the rights and privileges of a Canadian citizen or the responsibilities and duties.
[5] The appellant is a housewife with two young children, two and three years old, and has not had the opportunity to take sufficient classes in English as a second language. I urge her to take further English language training, and she certainly has the potential to become a Canadian citizen.
[6] I am not satisfied that Ms. Le meets the requirements of paragraph 5(1)(e) of the Citizenship Act.
[7] Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.
W.P. McKeown
J U D G E
O T T A W A, Ontario
April 20, 1998.
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