Date: 19990909
Docket: IMM-5448-98
BETWEEN:
IQBAL AHMED BHUTTO
Applicant
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
SHARLOW J.
[1] The applicant Iqbal Ahmed Bhutto applied for permanent residence in Canada as a mechanical engineer. It is undisputed that he has the required training and education to be a mechanical engineer, according to the national occupation classification (NOC category 2132).
[2] Mr. Bhutto has been working as an engineer in Pakistan since 1980. However, a visa officer decided after an interview with Mr. Bhutto not to award him any points for experience as an engineer. If the visa officer had recognized only one years' relevant experience, Mr. Bhutto would have achieved enough points to qualify for permanent residence.
[3] The general description of a mechanical engineer, according to NOC, is as follows:
| Mechanical Engineers research, design and develop machinery and systems for heating, ventilating and air-conditioning, power generation, transportation, processing and manufacturing. They also perform duties related to the evaluation, installation, operation and maintenance of mechanical systems. Mechanical Engineers are employed by consulting firms, power generating utilities, and in a wide range of manufacturing, processing and transportation industries, or they may be self-employed. |
[4] The visa officer was required to assess Mr. Bhutto's experience against the description of the main duties of a mechanical engineer as set out in the NOC description, which reads as follows:
Mechanical Engineers perform some or all of the following duties:
| " Conduct research into the feasibility, design, operation and performance of mechanisms, components and systems |
| " Prepare material, cost and timing estimates, reports and design specifications for machinery and systems |
| " Design power plants, machines, components, tools, fixtures and equipment |
| " Supervise and inspect the installation, modification and commissioning of mechanical systems at construction sites or in industrial facilities |
| " Develop maintenance standards, schedules and programs and provide guidance to industrial maintenance crews |
| " Investigate mechanical failures or unexpected maintenance problems |
| " Prepare contract documents and evaluate tenders for industrial construction or maintenance |
| " Supervise technicians, technologists and other engineers and review and approve designs, calculations and cost estimates |
[5] A review of the record discloses some similarities between the duties Mr. Bhutto has been performing for years and the listed duties of a mechanical engineer relating to the installation and maintenance of machines, and the supervision of others.
[6] The visa officer's negative decision turns on an error in his interpretation of the applicable NOC category. He made substantially the same error as in Paracha v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), August 23,1999 IMM-5446-98 (F.C.T.D.). In that case, Pelletier J. said, in allowing the application for judicial review:
| The use of the words "all or some" means that civil engineers will perform more than one of the specified tasks and some may perform them all. They do not mean that all civil engineers perform all of the tasks, which is the construction which the visa officer appears to have placed upon those words. |
[7] Similarly, the NOC description for mechanical engineers requires an applicant to show that he has performed "some or all" of the listed duties.
[8] In this case the visa officer did not recognize any of Mr. Bhutto's experience in mechanical engineering because it did not involve research, design, cost and time estimates, contracts or tenders. The officer thought that experience in those aspects of mechanical engineering was compulsory. However, there is nothing in the language of the NOC category for mechanical engineers that justifies the officer's interpretation.
[9] The application for judicial review is allowed and the decision of the visa officer is set aside. Mr. Bhutto's application for permanent residence is referred back for reconsideration by a different visa officer.
"Karen R. Sharlow"
Judge
Toronto, Ontario
September 9, 1999
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
| COURT NO: IMM-5448-98 |
| STYLE OF CAUSE: IQBAL AHMED BHUTTO |
| - and - |
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
| DATE OF HEARING: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1999 |
| PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO |
| REASONS FOR ORDER BY: SHARLOW J. |
| DATED: THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1999 |
| APPEARANCES: Mr. Harvey Savage |
For the Applicant
Ms. Marissa Bielski
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Harvey Savage
Barrister & Solicitor
Suite 2000
393 University Ave.
Toronto, Ontario
M5G 1E6
| For the Applicant |
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
For the Respondent
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Date:19990909
Docket: IMM-5448-98
Between:
| IQBAL AHMED BHUTTO |
Applicant
- and -
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Respondent
| REASONS FOR ORDER |