VC0-00308

RAD File No. / No de dossier de la SAR : VC0-00308 Private Proceeding / Huis clos Reasons and Decision ? Motifs et décision Person who is the subject of the appeal XXXX XXXX Personne en cause Appeal considered / heard at Ottawa, Ontario Appel instruit / entendu à Date of decision March 3, 2021 Date de la décision Panel Me Murielle Henri Tribunal Counsel for the person who is the subject of the appeal Satnam Singh Aujla Conseil de la personne en cause Designated representative N/A Représentant(e) désigné(e) Counsel for the Minister N/A Conseil du ministre REASONS FOR DECISION OVERVIEW [1] The appellant, XXXX XXXX, a citizen of Haiti, is alleging that he fears for his life should he return to Haiti by reason of his imputed political opinion. [2] On XXXX XXXX, 2012, two masked men entered the appellant's home and told him to stop talking about former presidents René Préval and Jean-Bertrand Aristide. On XXXX XXXX, 2012, he was beaten by unidentified individuals while he was on the street. On XXXX XXXX XXXX 2012, his cousin overheard some criminals say that they were going to kill the person they had beaten the previous week. This cousin helped him go to Port-au-Prince so that he could leave the country. On XXXX XXXX, 2012, the appellant left Haiti for the United States. On XXXX XXXX XXXX 2012, his cousin was killed. The appellant left the United States in XXXX 2017 and claimed refugee protection in Canada. [3] On December 9, 2019, the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) rejected his refugee protection claim on the ground that an internal flight alternative (IFA) was available to him. DETERMINATION [4] I dismiss the appeal. The appellant does not face a risk should he return to Haiti. ANALYSIS [5] My role is to review all of the evidence and determine whether the RPD's decision is correct.1 In this case, I am of the opinion that the determinative issue is the risk of return. Risk of return [6] During the RPD hearing, the appellant was questioned about whether he knew who had threatened him in 2012. The appellant answered that he did not know.2 When asked whether the individuals who attacked him had said anything to him, the appellant answered no.3 When questioned about why these individuals had targeted him in 2012, the appellant answered that when a person does not want to join the same political party as the criminals, these criminals target you.4 When asked whether any bad things connected to him had happened since his departure in 2012, the appellant stated that he did not know, since he did not know the individuals who had attacked him in 2012. When questioned about whether his family experienced any problems after his departure from Haiti, the appellant answered that shortly after he left, some individuals had asked about him but that nothing had occurred after that. [7] Therefore, based on the appellant's testimony, his family has not experienced any problems since his departure from Haiti. In fact, his wife and children are still living in Port-de-Paix, Haiti, the same city in which the appellant was targeted. He made no mention in his testimony about his family being approached by criminals. Moreover, his testimony revealed that his father's death in XXXX 2019 was not connected to the attack against him in 2012. The appellant testified that he did not know whether the indidiviudals who had killed his father were the same people who had targeted him in 2012.5 Furthermore, he added that he did not know the people who had attacked him in 2012 and that he did not see their faces. Finally, he testified that he did not know why his father had been killed and that it is common for people to kill other people for no reason.6 Thus, given the appellant's testimony, it is not possible to connect his father's death in 2019 to his fear. [8] When the RPD questioned the appellant about whether he thinks that the criminals would still be interested in harming him should he return to Haiti, the appellant answered yes. When asked why, the appellant stated that the criminals will recognize him.7 [9] According to the documentary evidence, the likelihood of an act of revenge diminishes with the passage of time.8 The onus was therefore on the appelant to demonstrate that, after more than seven years, he would still be a person of interest to the people who attacked him in Haiti in 2012. However, he did not demonstrate that this was the case. [10] For all these reasons, I conclude that the appellant did not demonstrate that there is a serious possibility that he would be persecuted on a Convention ground or that, on a balance of probabilities, he would be personally subjected to a danger of torture, to a risk to his life or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment if he were to return to Haiti. CONCLUSION [11] I confirm the determination of the RPD, that the appellant is neither a Convention refugee nor a person in need of protection under paragraph 111(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. [12] The appeal is dismissed. (signed) Murielle Henri Murielle Henri March 3, 2021 Date IRB translation Original language: French 1Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) v. Huruglica, 2016 FCA 93; Rozas del Solar v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 1145. 2 Recording of the hearing held on December 3, 2019, at 01:10:00. 3 Ibid., at 01:11:00. 4 Ibid., at 01:20:00. 5 Ibid., at 01:12:00. 6 Ibid., at 01:29:00. 7 Ibid., at 01:18:00. 8 SPR-1, Document 3, National Documentation Package on Haiti, September 30, 2019, Tab 7.6: Haiti: Revenge committed by gangs or by other organized crime structures; capacity of gangs or other organized crime structures to trace their targets, including if the targets return to Haiti after a long absence (2014-May 2015), Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, June 18, 2015, p. 5-6, HTI105162.FE. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ RAD File No. / No de dossier de la SAR : VC0-00308 RAD.25.02 (January 2020) Disponible en français 3 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Refugee Appeal Division Commission de l'immigration et du statut de réfugié du Canada Section d'appel des réfugiés RAD.25.02 (January 2020) Disponible en français