Date: 20031120
Docket: IMM-6065-02
Citation: 2003 FC 1372
Toronto, Ontario, November 20th, 2003
Present: The Honourable Mr. Justice von Finckenstein
BETWEEN:
MARIA BELEN BAEZ
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER
OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
(Delivered orally from the bench but written and edited for clarification and precision)
[1] This case involves the denial of refugee status to a student from Argentina.
[2] The case turned on two points. First, the applicant argued that the Board denied it procedural fairness by refusing to hear two witnesses by teleconference as the necessary 20 days notice had not been given.
[3] I cannot accede to this submission. The Board is "master of its own house" (Prassad v. Canada, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 560; Pillai v. Canada (M.C.I.), [2002] 3 F.C. 481). Pursuant to Rule 38 of the Refugee Protection Division Rules, SOR/2002-228 (Rules), the applicant must provide the Board with the required witness information 20 days prior to a hearing. Here, the applicant failed to comply with the Rules even though she had retained counsel more than 20 days before the hearing. Furthermore, the applicant's also did not request the Board at the hearing to exercise its discretion and waive the 20 days notice requirement.
[4] The Board's decision was based upon its finding that the applicant was not a credible witness, thus the witnesses testimony did not go to the heart of the case. Even if the Board had chosen to hear from the witnesses by teleconference, their testimony would not have affected this central part of its decision.
[5] The second point concerned the finding of the Board in respect of the plausibility of the reasons advanced by the applicant for her feeling persecuted by the administration of the University she was attending. While the Court might have reached a different conclusion than that of the Board on the facts of this case, it is not the role of this Court to re-weigh evidence. Rather it is to determine if the finding was patently unreasonable. That is not the case.
[6] Consequently this application is dismissed.
ORDER
THIS COURT ORDERS that this application is dismissed.
"K. von Finckenstein"
J.F.C.
FEDERAL COURT
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
DOCKET: IMM-6065-02
STYLE OF CAUSE: MARIA BELEN BAEZ
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND
IMMIGRATION
Respondent
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
DATE OF HEARING: NOVEMBER 20, 2003
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER BY: von FINCKENSTEIN J.
APPEARANCES BY: Ms. Krassina Kostadinov
FOR APPLICANT
Ms. Alexis Singer
FOR RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Waldman & Associates
Toronto, Ontario
FOR APPLICANT
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Toronto, Ontario
FOR RESPONDENT
FEDERAL COURT
TRIAL DIVISION
Date: 20031120
Docket: IMM-6065-02
BETWEEN:
MARIA BELEN BAEZ
Applicant
and
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
AND ORDER