Date: 199903017
Docket: IMM-1094-98
BETWEEN:
ANASTACIO ROBERTO VERA SOLIS
CATALINA ALONSO PENAFORT
KATHY VERA ALONSO
Applicants
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER
EVANS J.
[1] The Refugee Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board rejected the claims of the applicants for refugee status on the ground that the principal applicant"s evidence was not credible. The applicants are citizens of Mexico.
[2] The Refugee Division based its finding of non-credibility on four aspects of the principal applicant"s evidence. First, it found an inconsistency between the port-of-entry notes of the immigration officer and the applicant"s evidence before the Board on the basis of the refugee claim. Second, it found that the applicant"s claim of persecution was implausible in light of the fact that none of the incidents upon which he relied was mentioned in a letter solicited by the applicant"s counsel from the trade union to which the applicant belonged. Third, the Board relied on the discrepancy between the port-of-entry notes and the applicant"s oral evidence on where he and his family had hidden following alleged incidents of persecution. Fourth, it observed that the applicants" delay in leaving Mexico made it implausible that they feared persecution by the judicial police.
[3] It is trite law that this Court is reluctant to set aside decisions of the Board on the basis on the basis of a credibility finding, because such findings are at the heart of the specialized jurisdiction of the Board as the trier of fact.
[4] While the inference that the Board drew from the letter from the union may have been questionable, I am satisfied that the other aspects of the applicant"s evidence upon which the Board relied provided ample support for its finding that the applicant was not credible, and its conclusion that the applicants" claims should be rejected.
[5] For these reasons, this application for judicial review is dismissed. There is no serious question of general importance involved in this decision for me to certify.
"John M. Evans"
J.F.C.C.
Toronto, Ontario
March 17, 1999
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Names of Counsel and Solicitors of Record
| COURT NO: IMM-1094-98 |
| STYLE OF CAUSE: ANASTACIO ROBERTO VERA SOLIS |
| CATALINA ALONSO PENAFORT |
| KATHY VERA ALONSO |
Applicants
- and -
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Respondent
DATE OF HEARING: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1999
PLACE OF HEARING: TORONTO, ONTARIO
REASONS FOR ORDER BY: EVANS J.
DATED: WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1999
APPEARANCES: Mr. Pheroze J.K. JeeJeebhoy
For the Applicant
Ms. Diane Dagenais
For the Respondent
SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Kerr Gould & Jeejeebhoy Associates
| Barristers & Solicitors |
| 495 Queen Street East |
| Toronto, Ontario |
| M5A 1V1 |
| For the Applicant |
Morris Rosenberg
Deputy Attorney General
of Canada
For the Respondent
FEDERAL COURT OF CANADA
Date: 19990317
Docket: IMM-1094-98
Between:
| ANASTACIO ROBERTO VERA SOLIS |
| CATALINA ALONSO PENAFORT |
| KATHY VERA ALONSO |
Applicants
- and -
| THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Respondent
REASONS FOR ORDER