Date: 19980916
Docket: IMM-1442-98
Between:
LILIK SUTIONO
Applicant
- and -
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
TREMBLAY-LAMER J.:
[1] This is an application for judicial review of a decision of a visa officer refusing the applicant"s application for permanent residence on the ground that she was not qualified as an "executive secretary" and failed in the "general office clerk supervisor" category because there was no demand in Canada for that sort of occupation.
[2] The applicant disputes the visa officer"s narrow interpretation of the required qualifications for a secretary and the assessment of the personal suitability factor. She also submits that the visa officer failed to assess all the evidence that was submitted, for determining whether there were grounds for exercising discretion under subsection 11(3) of the Regulations.
[3] Insofar as the required qualifications are concerned, the evidence shows that, contrary to what the applicant claimed, the visa officer did not consider her education alone, but also her experience in the desired occupation. After finding that the applicant did not have the necessary training in the secretarial field and that the university courses she had taken were unrelated to secretarial work, the visa officer looked at her experience and concluded that it was more akin to the work of a clerk supervisor than a secretary. The visa officer could not ignore the fact that the applicant was not very skilled at typing (18 words per minute) and shorthand. Secretarial work includes these requirements, to reflect the Canadian working environment. As a result, in my view, it was reasonable for the visa officer to find that the applicant was not qualified to be a secretary or executive secretary.
[4] With respect to the personal suitability factor, I am not persuaded that the visa officer did not have regard to all the evidence. What counsel is asking me to do is to substitute my own assessment for the visa officer"s, which is entirely inappropriate on judicial review.
[5] Last, after reading the affidavits and the handwritten notes attached, I am not satisfied that the visa officer had regard to the relevant factors for exercising her discretion under subsection 11(3) of the Regulations. I could not tell which factors the visa officer had regard to in exercising her discretion. Perhaps she had good reason, but her affidavit is nebulous on that score. She appears to have been mainly concerned with the applicant"s pregnancy, which prevented the applicant from working immediately.
[6] In the result, the application for judicial review is allowed, the decision of the visa officer is quashed and the matter is referred back to a different visa officer for redetermination in a manner not inconsistent with these reasons.
Danièle Tremblay-Lamer
JUDGE
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
September 16, 1998.
Certified true translation
Peter Douglas
Date: 19980916
Docket: IMM-1442-98
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, SEPTEMBER 16, 1998
PRESENT: THE HONOURABLE MADAME JUSTICE TREMBLAY-LAMER
Between:
LILIK SUTIONO
Applicant
- and -
MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
O R D E R
The application for judicial review is allowed, the decision of the visa officer is quashed and the matter is referred back to a different visa officer for redetermination in a manner not inconsistent with these reasons.
Danièle Tremblay-Lamer
JUDGE
OTTAWA, ONTARIO
September 16, 1998.
Certified true translation
Peter Douglas
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
TRIAL DIVISION
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT NO.: IMM-1442-98
STYLE OF CAUSE: LILIK SUTIONO v. M.C.I.
PLACE OF HEARING: Montréal, Quebec
DATE OF HEARING: September 10, 1998
REASONS FOR ORDER OF TREMBLAY-LAMER J.
DATED September 16, 1998
APPEARANCES:
Pierre Masson FOR THE APPLICANT
Jocelyne Murphy FOR THE RESPONDENT
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
Pierre Masson FOR THE APPLICANT
Montréal, Quebec
Morris Rosenberg FOR THE RESPONDENT
Deputy Attorney General of Canada