Date: 19980922
Docket: IMM-4757-97
B E T W E E N:
NICOLAS MANZILA
Applicant
- and -
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
(Delivered from the bench at Montréal, Quebec,
on Tuesday, September 22, 1998)
HUGESSEN J.
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision of the Refugee Division. The Division was represented by only one member in this case.
[2] The applicant is a Zairian national. He claims to have encountered several difficulties as a result of his political activities in Zaire and had to leave the country in 1996. He also claims that since his arrival in Canada, he has actively participated in the activities of a Zairian or Congolese political party, namely the PALU, and that these activities were public and had repercussions in Congo, and the present government in Congo is aware of them. There has obviously been an important change of regime in his country since the applicant left Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo; the former dictator Mobutu has been replaced by a new dictator by the name of Kabila.
[3] The member who heard the applicant's refugee claim did not believe his account of the various incidents which, according to the applicant, occurred in Zaire. The member pointed out several contradictions and improbabilities in the applicant's testimony. I will not reconsider his decision on this issue because the member made an error which requires a new hearing; it is accordingly preferable that I not comment on his conclusions concerning the credibility of the applicant.
[4] With respect, the member's error was that he completely failed to deal with the second part of the applicant's claim, namely his allegation that his activities here in Canada would have serious repercussions for him in his home country. The member mentions these activities at the very beginning of his decision but he does not dispose of the applicant's claim that his activities here make him a refugee irrespective of his activities in his country of origin.
[5] I have no choice in these circumstances; the decision must be quashed and the matter referred back to the Board for a new hearing. Before I sign the order, I would, however, ask counsel if they have submissions to make concerning the certification of a question.
James K. Hugessen
Judge
Certified true translation
M. Iveson
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT NO.: IMM-4757-97
STYLE OF CAUSE: NICOLAS MANZILA v. MINISTER
PLACE OF HEARING: MONTRÉAL
DATE OF HEARING: SEPTEMBER 22, 1998
REASONS FOR ORDER BY HUGESSEN J.
DATED SEPTEMBER 22, 1998
APPEARANCES:
Adèle Mardoche FOR THE APPLICANT
Lisa Maziade FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Adèle Mardoche FOR THE APPLICANT
Morris Rosenberg FOR THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
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