Date: 20010628
Docket: IMM-4860-00
MONTRÉAL, QUEBEC, THE 28TH DAY OF JUNE, 2001
Present: THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NADON
Between:
ALICIA ZAMUDIO BLANCO
Applicant
AND
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
Application for judicial review of the decision rendered August 24, 2000 by Mr. Neuenfeldt Kurt of the Immigration and Refugee Board in docket V99-01904, pursuant to section 82.1(4) of the Immigration Act.
ORDER
The application for judicial review is dismissed.
"Marc Nadon"
J.
Certified true translation
Suzanne M. Gauthier, LL.L., Trad. a.
Date: 20010628
Docket: IMM-4860-00
Neutral Citation: 2001 FCT 727
Between:
ALICIA ZAMUDIO BLANCO
Applicant
AND
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
NADON J.
[1] The applicant is seeking to have a decision of the Refugee Division dated August 24, 2000, according to which she is not a Convention refugee, set aside.
[2] The applicant, of Mexican citizenship, is claiming refugee status because of her membership in two social groups, namely, women who are victims of spousal violence, and lesbians.
[3] The analysis of the Refugee Division is succinct, and I reproduce it in full. At pages 4 and 5 of its decision, the Refugee Division writes:
[Translation]
Analysis
Counsel for the claimant presented some written submissions after the conclusion of the hearing, and these were examined by the panel. He argues that there is no reason to doubt that the claimant is a lesbian. He also argues that she is a victim of spousal violence. He cites a number of cases affecting Mexican claimants in which these issues are discussed.
Sexual orientation
It can be postulated from the documentation on Mexico that lesbians have much less to fear than homosexual men. One of the documents presented is an extract from a publication in the Question and Answer Series Mexico, Treatment of Homosexuals, April 1998. From the documented cases, it says, it is lesbians who are at the least risk, of everyone who does not correspond to the standard heterosexual model, of being victims of violence. The head of a human rights organization suggests that lesbians are sometimes victims of discrimination, but usually only in the sphere of private life.
Be that as it may, the definition of Convention refugee is prospective in nature. The claimant has not expressed the desire to have a homosexual relationship with anyone in the future, since this aspect of her life is no longer as important for her as is the fact of living in the context of her religious beliefs. Those beliefs apparently do not include the possibility of a homosexual relationship.
Spousal violence
The claimant's husband, in Vera Cruz, used violence against her. If she were to return to that city, in the area where her husband resides, he would probably try to mistreat her again. It is not at all clear that she could have the benefit of police protection.
However, I am of the opinion that a drug addict who works only occasionally and who forces his wife to prostitute herself to pay for his drugs would have little influence and much less power outside the limits of his immediate environment. Furthermore, he would be unable to find his wife in the multitude of big cities in Mexico. Should she remain outside of Vera Cruz, for example in Mexico City, there is virtually no chance that her husband will find her. I do not accept the fact that some relatives of the husband are likely to encounter her accidentally in that city, which is considered the largest in the world.
The other point is to determine whether it would be reasonable for her to live elsewhere in Mexico. Her situation in Vera Cruz was marginal, at best. However, she showed that she was sufficiently resourceful to live in Canada in its foreign language and culture. In my opinion, she would be capable of demonstrating as much resourcefulness in a city like Mexico City. In my opinion, she has a possibility of viable and reasonable internal refuge.
[4] In so far as the applicant's sexual orientation is concerned, the conclusion of the Refugee Division is not, in my opinion, unreasonable. In finding that the applicant ran no risk of being persecuted by reason of her sexual orientation, the Refugee Division did not commit any error that would allow me to intervene.
[5] As to the second aspect of the decision, spousal violence, the Refugee Division concluded that the applicant had a "viable and reasonable" internal refuge.
[6] Notwithstanding the very able argument by Mr. Centurion, the applicant's counsel, I am not persuaded that the Refugee Division erred on this point.
[7] For these reasons, the application for judicial review will be dismissed.
"Marc Nadon"
J.
Montréal, Quebec
June 28, 2001
Certified true translation
Suzanne M. Gauthier, LL.L., Trad. a.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET NO: IMM-4860-00
STYLE: ALICIA ZAMUDIO BLANCO
Applicant
AND
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: June 27, 2001
REASONS FOR ORDER OF THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NADON
DATED: June 28, 2001
APPEARANCES:
Manuel Centurion For the applicant
Isabelle Brochu For the respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Manuel Centurion
Montréal, Quebec For the applicant
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Montréal, Quebec For the respondent
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
Date: 20010628
Docket: IMM-4860-00
Between:
ALICIA ZAMUDIO BLANCO
Applicant
AND
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER