Date: 19991026
Docket: T-552-99
BETWEEN:
CRISTIAN-GABRIEL MERLOI
Applicant
AND
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
BLAIS J.
[1] In this case, it is obvious that the applicant"s file was received by the respondent on October 8, 1997, as evidenced by the copy of the citizenship application on the record, on which October 8, 1997, appears as the date the application file was received.
[2] The citizenship judge erred by indicating that the filing date was September 17, 1997, on the notice to the Minister of his decision not to approve the application.
[3] The applicant filed two affidavits in support of his application, his own and that of his wife at the time, which confirm that the application was sent in October 1997, in other words, after September 30, 1997, the date written on the applicant"s photo.
[4] The respondent did not object to the filing of these documents, and did not consider it necessary to question the affiants. These documents are therefore accepted by the Court and explain the circumstances that led to and followed the filing of the application.
[5] Paragraph 5(1)(c) of the Citizenship Act states:
| 5. (1) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who 5.(1)c) has been lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence, has not ceased since such admission to be a permanent resident pursuant to section 24 of the Immigration Act, and has, within the four years immediately preceding the date of his application, accumulated at least three years of residence in Canada calculated in the following manner: (i) for every day during which the person was resident in Canada before his lawful admission to Canada for permanent residence the person shall be deemed to have accumulated one-half of a day of residence, and (ii) for every day during which the person was resident in Canada after his lawful admission to Canada for permanent residence the person shall be deemed to have accumulated one day of residence; |
5. (1) Le ministre attribue la citoyenneté à toute personne qui, à la fois_: 5.(1)c) a été légalement admise au Canada à titre de résident permanent, n'a pas depuis perdu ce titre en application de l'article 24 de la Loi sur l'immigration, et a, dans les quatre ans qui ont précédé la date de sa demande, résidé au Canada pendant au moins trois ans en tout, la durée de sa résidence étant calculée de la manière suivante: (i) un demi-jour pour chaque jour de résidence au Canada avant son admission à titre de résident permanent; (ii) un jour pour chaque jour de résidence au Canada après son admission à titre de résident permanent; |
| (Emphasis added.) |
[6] The date referred to in the section is the "date of the application". The Act does not specify the point at which the application is considered to have been presented.
[7] The Petit Larousse and the Petit Robert help us to define these two terms:
| [translation] |
| application: 1) act of requesting something, to make known what one wishes, wants. . . |
| 4) law. legal application: act by which a legal action is commenced.1 |
| apply: . . . |
| 3) law. commence a legal action.2 |
| present: 3) make available, show. |
| 6) submit something to someone for examination, verification, judgment.3 |
(Emphasis added.)
[8] It seems clear to me that the application date in this specific case is not September 17, 1997, but rather October 8, 1997.
[9] The Court believes that the applicant has met all the requirements set out in the Citizenship Act and specifically in paragraph 5(1)(c).
[10] For these reasons, the appeal is allowed and the application for citizenship is granted.
Pierre Blais
Judge
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
October 26, 1999
Certified true translation
Monica F. Chamberlain
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT NO.: T-552-99
STYLE OF CAUSE: Cristian-Gabriel Merloi v. MCI
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal
DATE OF HEARING: October 18, 1999
REASONS FOR ORDER OF BLAIS J.
DATED: October 26, 1999
APPEARANCES:
Cristian-Gabriel Merloi FOR THE APPLICANT
Representing himself
Caroline Doyon FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Morris Rosenberg FOR THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada
Montréal, Quebec
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