IMM-1370-96
BETWEEN:
RACHEL TESSA BURGIN,
Applicant,
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION,
Respondent.
REASONS FOR ORDER
NOËL, J.:
This is an application for judicial review of the decision of an immigration officer wherein it was held that there were insufficient humanitarian and compassionate grounds to grant the Applicant permission to apply for landing from within Canada.
The Applicant raises as her principal ground for review, the fact that the decision rejecting her application was not made by the officer who conducted the interview, but by her superior. She argues that it is a fundamental principle of the Common Law that he who hears must decide, and that this principle was breached in this instance.
It is well established that while a claimant has a right to make an application under s. 114(2) of the Act, and to have that application considered and determined on its merits, there is no duty on the part of the Minister to hold a hearing. In the case at bar, the officer charged with the task of making the decision had before her all the facts and circumstances relevant to the Applicant's claim and she specifically noted that she conducted a detailed review of these circumstances. It follows that it cannot be said that the claim was not assessed on its merits or that the Applicant was not given the right to make her case.
Furthermore, it cannot be said that the factors considered by the decision maker did not include the "illegal de facto policy" on the ground that the interviewing officer took no notes while the criteria set out in this policy were being addressed. As the policy sets out the framework within which the Minister's discretion is to be exercised, it is an ever present consideration which cannot be said to have been excluded merely because no notes were taken.
Finally, while the Applicant may disagree with the decision reached in this instance, it cannot be said that it is in any way unreasonable having regard to the facts which were before her.
The application is accordingly dismissed.
Marc Noël
Judge
Ottawa, Ontario
January 15, 1997
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF SOLICITORS AND SOLICITORS ON THE RECORD
COURT FILE NO.:
IMM-1370-96
STYLE OF CAUSE:
RACHEL TESSA BURGIN v. THE MINISTER
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
PLACE OF HEARING:
TORONTO
DATE OF HEARING:
JANUARY 9, 1997
REASONS FOR ORDER OF THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NOEL
DATED: JANUARY 15, 1997
APPEARANCES:
Mr. Osborne Barnwell FOR THE APPLICANT
Mr. Brian Frimeth FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS ON THE RECORD:
Ferguson, Barnwell FOR THE APPLICANT Toronto, Ontario
Mr. George Thomson FOR THE RESPONDENT Deputy Attorney General of Canada
OF
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