Canada (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v. Zaric, [2015] F.T.R. TBEd. JL.038

• Judge: Fothergill, J.
• Court: Federal Court (Canada)
• Case Date: May 27, 2015
• Jurisdiction: Canada (Federal)
• Citations: [2015] F.T.R. TBEd. JL.038;2015 FC 837

Can. v. Zaric, [2015] F.T.R. TBEd. JL.038

MLB being edited

Currently being edited for F.T.R. - judgment temporarily in rough form.

Temp. Cite: [2015] F.T.R. TBEd. JL.038

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (applicant) v. Miodrag Zaric (respondent)

(IMM-3126-14; 2015 FC 837)

Indexed As: Canada (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) v. Zaric

Federal Court

Fothergill, J.

July 14, 2015.

Summary:

Zaric was a Bosnian Serb. He entered Canada on October 23, 1996. His claim for refugee protection was accepted by the Convention Refugee Determination Division (CRDD) in 1998. Zaric became a permanent resident of Canada in 1999 and a Canadian citizen in 2001. According to the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Zaric had been convicted of murder and manslaughter on August 23, 1996. Pursuant to s. 109(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the Minister filed an Application to Vacate the decision of the CRDD based on Zaric's alleged misrepresentation or withholding of material facts concerning his criminal history. Zaric brought a motion to dismiss the Minister's Application to Vacate. Zaric took the position that the Application to Vacate was moot because he was no longer a Convention refugee. He argued that, by virtue of s. 108(1)(c) of the IRPA, his refugee status disappeared once he obtained Canadian citizenship, and the significant delay in bringing the Application to Vacate constituted an abuse of process. The Minister responded that the matter was not moot because s. 108(1)(c) of the IRPA operated only upon the application of the Minister, as prescribed by s. 108(2), and Zaric therefore continued to be a protected person under domestic Canadian law. The Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board granted Zaric's motion to dismiss the Minister's Application to Vacate. The Minister applied for judicial review, challenging the Board's refusal to reconsider and vacate the CRDD's determination that Zaric was a Convention refugee.

The Federal Court allowed the application. Zaric automatically ceased to be a Convention refugee under international law when he acquired Canadian citizenship. However, that did not mean that he automatically ceased to be a protected person under Canadian domestic law, specifically s. 95(2) of the IRPA. The Minister's application to vacate his refugee status was therefore not moot. The matter was remitted to a different panel of the Board for consideration of the Minister's application to vacate on its merits. The following question was certified for appeal:

Does refugee protection conferred pursuant to s. 95(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act automatically cease by operation of s. 108(1)(c) when a Convention refugee becomes a Canadian citizen, thereby preventing the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness from applying to the Immigration and Refugee Board pursuant to s. 109(1) to vacate the Board's previous decision to confer refugee protection?

Aliens - Topic 1313.6

Admission - Refugee protection, Convention refugees and persons in need of protection - Refugee protection - Rejection of claims where refugee protection ceased (incl. compelling reasons exception) (IRPA, s. 108) - See paragraphs 16 to 39.

Aliens - Topic 1328.1

Admission - Refugee protection, Convention refugees and persons in need of protection - Revocation of determination - See paragraphs 16 to 39.

Counsel:

Amina Riaz and Jelena Urosevic, for the applicant;

Ronald Poulton and Barbara Jackman, for the respondent.

Solicitors of Record:

William F. Pentney, Deputy Attorney General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, for the applicant;

Ronald Poulton, Toronto, Ontario, for the respondent.

This application was heard on May 27, 2015, at Toronto, Ontario, before Fothergill, J., of the Federal Court, who delivered the following decision on July 14, 2015.