Date: 19990414
Docket: IMM-3634-98
BETWEEN:
LIBAN HASSAN
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
CAMPBELL J.
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision of the CRDD, dated June 15, 1998, wherein it was decided that the applicant was not a Convention refugee.
[2] The applicant is a 16 year old male citizen of Somalia. He bases his claim to a well-founded fear of persecution on his membership in a particular social group, namely the Majerteen clan. In its decision, the CRDD summarized the facts as follows:
| ...Briefly, his evidence was that his father was a well-known member of the Marjerteen clan, and a member of the Somalia Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF), the political organization of the clan. His father had to flee Somalia because of the persecution from the former President of Somalia, Siad Barre. His father made his way to Canada where he made a successful refugee claim and is now a Canadian citizen. The claimant fears to return to Somalia because he has not lived there since he was nine years old, when he fled with his mother who has since died. He has no relative there, and he does not know the country. He fears that he will be persecuted by other clans and will not receive protection from his own clan because he is not known to them. [Decision, p. 1] |
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[3] The CRDD determined that a main issue is whether a viable internal flight alternative (IFA) is open to the applicant.
[4] In its decision, the CRDD found that an IFA exists in the north east of Somolia. However, in relation to this finding, only the following statements were made with respect to whether the IFA was reasonable for this young applicant:
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Taking all of the evidence into consideration I find that there is no credible or trustworthy evidence that there is a serious possibility that the claimant would be persecuted in the North-east where his clan is in power. Further, I find that should he need it he would have a claim on clan assistance not only by reason of being Majerteen but also by reason of the fact that his father was a member of the SSDF, the ruling party in the area. |
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Having said that, I am aware that the claimant made his application for refugee status in 1995, but withdrew it when he believed that the application for sponsorship made by his father would be successful. I am aware that his father has made every effort to sponsor the claimant in Canada, that he has provided care for the claimant since the arrival of the claimant in Canada, as well as having sent financial support overseas prior to the claimant"s arrival in Canada. I am also aware that the claimant left Somalia eight years ago, that the only stable environment he has known has been with his father in Canada. All of these facts, while strongly supportive of humanitarian consideration, are outside the mandate of this Board, whose jurisdiction is solely to determine whether the claimant is a Convention refugee. ...
Although the claimant may have strong reasons to wish to stay in Canada, and good reasons not to wish to return to Somalia, these reasons are not among those found in the Convention, and thus are beyond the mandate of the Board. [Decision, p. 3-4]
[5] I completely agree with the applicant"s submission that since the applicant is a minor, an IFA cannot be reasonable unless proper settlement arrangements exist. In the very similar case of Yassin Yussuf Osman v. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration1, I have said as follows:
With respect to the issue of whether the IFA is a reasonable option, the Board states that the IFA is "reasonable in the circumstances of this particular case". However, there is no evidence that the Board assessed the particular circumstances of the Applicant, including his young age, the impact on him of the violence to his family, and the substantial period of his absence from Somalia in determining the reasonableness of the IFA. In this case, I find that the Board"s failure to consider these particular factors in determining that the IFA was reasonable is a finding made without regard to the material before it.[p. 5]
[6] In my opinion, the CRDD made a similar error to that found in Yassin Yussuf Osman. In the present case, the CRDD failed to consider the evidence before it that the applicant:
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- had never been to been to north-east Somalia (he was a resident of Mogadishu before the war) |
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- has no family members in Somalia to look after him and protect him |
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- has not lived in Somalia since the age of 9 |
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- has no means of supporting himself or earning an income |
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| - would have no access to schools, hospitals or other services |
[7] Therefore, I find that the CRDD failed to to consider the particular circumstances of the applicant in determining the reasonableness of the IFA, and in doing so made a reviewable error.
[8] Accordingly, I set the decision of the CRDD aside and refer this matter back to a differently constituted panel for redetermination.
"Douglas R. Campbell"
TORONTO, ONTARIO
April 14,1999 J.F.C.C.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
STYLE OF CAUSE: LIBAN HASSAN
Applicant
- and -
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Respondent
| DATE OF HEARING: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1999 |
| PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO |
| REASONS FOR ORDER BY: CAMPBELL, J. |
DATED: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14, 1999
APPEARANCES: Mr. David Yerzy
For the Applicant
Mr. Toby Hoffman
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: David Yerzy
| 108-14 Prince Arthur Avenue |
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General
of Canada
For the Respondent
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Date: 19990414
Docket: IMM-3634-98
Between:
Applicant
- and -
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
__________________
1 Yassin Yussuf Osman v. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, April 9, 1997, IMM-1667-96.
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