Published On: Jun 22,2017
June 16, 2017: Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds applications for permanent residency in Canada based on a risk of gender based violence.
In
Delille v. Canada (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship), 2017 FC 508 (CanLII), the Federal Court in an immigration case found that an officer’s assessment of a Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds application (“H&C Application) was unreasonable. In rejecting an H&C application, the officer discounted the evidence of the principal Applicant of gender-based violence which as endured in both Canada and the United States. Such experiences resulted in documented psychological trauma and were therefore relevant to the H&C analysis, particularly in light of the evidence on violence against women in the applicants’ country of origin. In citing the authority of
MCI and
Kanthasamy, 2015 SCC 61, the Federal Court found that the H&C officer was to inquire as to whether “
a reasonable person in a civilized community” would want to relieve the misfortunes of the applicant. The evidence of the principal applicant’s experiences after leaving Haiti was clearly relevant to the Humanitarian and Compassionate analysis, in furtherance of the application submitted. The officer erred in failing to consider those factors: paras. 43-44.