Young v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2016 FCA 183

• Judge: Pelletier, Stratas and Gleason, JJ.A.
• Court: Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)
• Case Date: June 15, 2016
• Jurisdiction: Canada (Federal)
• Citations: 2016 FCA 183;(2016), 486 N.R. 276 (FCA)

Young v. Can. (M.C.I.) (2016), 486 N.R. 276 (FCA)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2016] N.R. TBEd. JN.019

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration (appellant) v. Abreyah Calicia Young by her Litigation Guardian Patrice Young (respondent)

(A-195-15; 2016 FCA 183)

Indexed As: Young v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)

Federal Court of Appeal

Pelletier, Stratas and Gleason, JJ.A.

June 15, 2016.

Summary:

Young, a Canadian citizen, adopted her cousin's daughter, who, pending the resolution of these proceedings, continued to reside with her natural mother in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Young applied for Canadian citizenship on behalf of her adopted daughter. A visa officer from the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago dismissed the application because the adoption did not meet the criteria in s. 5.1(1) of the Citizenship Act. Young, acting as litigation guardian for her adopted daughter, applied for judicial review of the visa officer's decision.

The Federal Court, in a decision reported at 476 F.T.R. 290, allowed the application and returned the matter for reconsideration by a different visa officer. The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration appealed.

The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal.

Aliens - Topic 2502

Naturalization - General - Interpretation of Citizenship Act - [See first Aliens - Topic 2606 ].

Aliens - Topic 2606

Naturalization - Right to citizenship - Child adopted by Canadian parent - Young, a Canadian citizen, adopted her cousin's daughter, who, pending the resolution of these proceedings, continued to reside with her natural mother in St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Young applied for Canadian citizenship on behalf of her adopted daughter - A visa officer from the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago dismissed the application on the ground, inter alia, that she had not been persuaded that the adoption was in the best interests of the child as required by s. 5.1(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act - Young, acting as litigation guardian for her adopted daughter, applied for judicial review of the visa officer's decision - The Federal Court allowed the application - The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the Minister's appeal - The statutory direction to ensure that the adoption was in the best interests of the child had to be understood in the context of the mischief which the conditions set out in s. 5.1(1) were intended to prevent, namely child trafficking and adoptions of convenience - The question for the visa officer was not whether the child would be better served by staying in the natural mother's home as opposed to the adoptive mother's home - The question was whether the adoption was undertaken for a purpose other than providing a true home for the child - If it was, it was not in the best interests of the child - The visa officer's decision on this element was unreasonable because it did not consider the meaning of s. 5.1(1)(a) in the context of the statutory purpose, and focussed instead on her own view of what was in the child's best interest - See paragraphs 23 to 28.

Aliens - Topic 2606

Naturalization - Right to citizenship - Child adopted by Canadian parent - Young, a Canadian citizen, adopted her cousin's daughter, who, pending the resolution of these proceedings, continued to reside with her natural mother in St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Young applied for Canadian citizenship on behalf of her adopted daughter - A visa officer from the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago dismissed the application on the ground, inter alia, that the adoption was entered into for the purpose of acquiring status or privilege in relation to immigration or citizenship, contrary to s. 5.1(1)(d) of the Citizenship Act - Young, acting as litigation guardian for her adopted daughter, applied for judicial review of the visa officer's decision - The Federal Court allowed the application - The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the Minister's appeal - The court stated that "Awareness of the material advantages which will accrue to a child as a result of an adoption does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that the adoption is entered into primarily to provide the child with those material advantages. This is particularly true in the case of adoption of young children who will require care and nurturing for an extended period of time. A genuine commitment on the part of the adoptive parents to provide that care and nurturing militates against the conclusion that the adoption was entered into primarily for the purpose of gaining an advantage or a privilege with respect to citizenship or immigration" - See paragraphs 29 to 34.

Aliens - Topic 2606

Naturalization - Right to citizenship - Child adopted by Canadian parent - Young, a Canadian citizen, adopted her cousin's daughter (Abreyah), who, pending the resolution of these proceedings, continued to reside with her natural mother in St. Vincent and the Grenadines - Young applied for Canadian citizenship on behalf of her adopted daughter - A visa officer from the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad and Tobago dismissed the application on the ground, inter alia, that she had not been convinced that the adoption created a genuine relationship of parent and child, as required by s. 5.1(1)(b) of the Citizenship Act - Young, acting as litigation guardian for her adopted daughter, applied for judicial review of the visa officer's decision - The Federal Court allowed the application - The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the Minister's appeal - The court stated that "The Visa Officer was critical of Ms Young for not visiting Abreyah more often and developing a relationship with her. But this line of inquiry betrays a misunderstanding of the statutory purpose. There is no requirement that the parent-child relationship be demonstrable at the time of the citizenship application. The Visa Officer must be alive to indications that there is no intention to establish a genuine parent-child relationship, as opposed to passing judgment on the quality of the current quality of the relationship. For these reasons, I find that the Visa Officer's conclusion on this point was unreasonable" - See paragraphs 35 to 41.

Counsel:

Brad Gotkin and Nicole Rahaman, for the appellant, The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration;

Jacqueline Swaisland and Tara McElroy, for the respondent, Abreyah Calicia Young by her Litigation Guardian Patrice Young.

Solicitors of Record:

William F. Pentney, Deputy Attorney General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, for the appellant, The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration;

Waldman and Associates, Toronto, Ontario, for the respondent, Abreyah Calicia Young by her Litigation Guardian Patrice Young.

This appeal was heard on January 14, 2016, at Toronto, Ontario, before Pelletier, Stratas and Gleason, JJ.A., of the Federal Court of Appeal. The following judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal was delivered by Pelletier, J.A., at Ottawa, Ontario, on June 15, 2016.