Date: 19971210
File: IMM-2930-96
Between:
MOLOTKOV SERGEY,
Applicant,
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION,
Respondent.
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
TREMBLAY-LAMER J.:
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision of the Refugee Division determining that the applicant is not a Convention refugee.
[2] The applicant immigrated to Israel on October 22, 1990, with his wife and minor son Sergey. His nationality is Russian through his mother and Jewish through his father, and his religion is Christian.
[3] The applicant explained before the Refugee Division that he was harassed and assaulted because of his nationality and his religion. He alleges that he has a well-founded fear of persecution by reason of these grounds.
[4] The tribunal concluded that it could not believe the applicant's account because of the documentary evidence which indicates that Israel is a democratic country that is capable of protecting those of its citizens who are nationals of the former Soviet Union.
[5] As in Malchikov1 and Agranowski,2 I am not satisfied that the tribunal took the trouble to examine the evidence as a whole, and more specifically the documents filed by the applicant which corroborated his testimony.
[6] This case is also very similar to Bougai,3 in which Gibson J. concluded:
| While it is a primary function of the CRDD to weigh the evidence before it, I am not satisfied that on the analysis reflected in the reasons in this matter, that weighing was done by this panel in a manner that demonstrates the panel had regard for the totality of the material before it. On this ground alone, I conclude that this application for judicial review must be allowed and that this matter should be referred back for rehearing and redetermination. That is not to say that the conclusion reached by the CRDD in this matter might not have been reasonably open to it. It is to say that the reasons of the CRDD simply do not adequately support the conclusion that it reached. |
[7] For these reasons, the application for judicial review is allowed and the case is referred back to a different panel.
[8] Certification of a question was not requested by counsel for either party in this instance.
Danièle Tremblay-Lamer
JUDGE
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
December 10, 1997
Certified true translation
C. Delon, LL.L.
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT FILE NO: IMM-2930-96
STYLE OF CAUSE: Sergey Molotkov
v.
Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: December 9, 1997
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT OF TREMBLAY-LAMER J.
DATED: December 10, 1997
APPEARANCES:
Michel Le Brun
FOR THE APPLICANT
Daniel Latulippe
FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Michel Le Brun
Montréal, Quebec
FOR THE APPLICANT
George Thomson
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
FOR THE RESPONDENT
__________________1 Malchikov v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) (1997), 120 F.T.R. 138 (F.C.T.D.).
2 Agranowski v. M.E.I. (July 3, 1996), IMM-2709-95 (F.C.T.D.).
3 Bougai v. Canada (M.C.I.) (June 15, 1995), IMM-4966-94 (F.C.T.D.).