Canada Case Law

2024 RLLR 23

Court

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Labour Relations

The Panel found the claimants credible, established nexus to Convention grounds (Palestinian ethnicity and perceived political opinion), demonstrated past persecution and a serious forward‑facing risk on return, and showed lack of effective state protection and no viable internal flight alternative; accordingly they meet the definition of Convention refugee under section 96 IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee determination
• Credibility assessment
• Nexus to convention grounds
• State protection
• Internal flight alternative (ifa)
• Country conditions

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2023 RLLR 260

Court

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Labour Relations

On the balance of probabilities the claimants are stateless Palestinians with credible testimony corroborated by documentation and country evidence showing systemic, state‑linked discrimination in Lebanon that gives rise to a well‑founded fear of persecution on account of nationality; they cannot obtain Lebanese or other citizenship, cannot return to their CFHRs, and have no state protection or viable internal flight alternative, therefore they meet the definition of Convention refugees under section 96 IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee
• Well-founded fear of persecution
• Country of former habitual residence
• State protection
• Internal flight alternative
• Nexus to convention ground

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2023 RLLR 80

Court

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Labour Relations

The claimants, credible stateless Palestinian women from Gaza, established a well-founded fear of persecution by Hamas on the basis of political opinion and membership of a particular social group (women refusing strict Islamic norms); state protection and internal flight alternatives are not reasonably available and they cannot reacquire status in former habitual residences, therefore they qualify as Convention refugees under ss.96 and 97(1) IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee status
• Persecution by non-state actor
• Gender-based persecution
• State protection
• Internal flight alternative
• Country of former habitual residence (thabet)

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2023 RLLR 73

Court

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Labour Relations

On the balance of probabilities the claimant established identity and credible testimony, demonstrated a well‑founded fear of persecution in Gaza because of opposition to Hamas and fear of forced recruitment, and showed absence of effective state protection or internal flight alternative in the occupied territory; additionally the claimant no longer has legal status in Saudi Arabia and cannot safely return there, therefore the claimant qualifies as a Convention refugee under s.96 IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee
• Persecution
• State protection
• Internal flight alternative
• Forced recruitment
• Credibility

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2023 RLLR 77

Court

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Labour Relations

On the balance of probabilities the claimants, as stateless Palestinians, face systemic discrimination and targeted threats including forcible recruitment by Hezbollah in Lebanon, lack state protection and a viable internal flight alternative, and cannot return to the UAE due to expired temporary status; therefore they meet the definition of Convention refugees under ss.96 and 97(1) IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee determination
• Stateless palestinians
• Internal flight alternative
• State protection
• Nexus to convention grounds
• Gender guidelines

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2023 RLLR 69

Court

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Labour Relations

The claimants established China and Saudi Arabia as countries of former habitual residence, demonstrated nexus to Convention grounds (Palestinian ethnicity and Sunni Muslim religion), proved a well‑founded subjective and objective fear of persecution in China, and showed state protection and an internal flight alternative in China were unavailable; they also cannot legally return to Saudi Arabia — therefore they meet the criteria for recognition as Convention refugees under ss.96/97(1) IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee
• Country of former habitual residence
• State protection
• Internal flight alternative
• Persecution for religion and ethnicity
• Credibility assessment

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2023 RLLR 72

Court

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Labour Relations

The claimant's credible, consistent testimony was corroborated by documentary evidence and credible country information showing Hamas targets perceived opponents; given the lack of effective state protection in Gaza and absence of a viable internal flight alternative, the claimant established on the balance of probabilities that he would face persecution on the ground of imputed political opinion and therefore meets the definition of a Convention refugee under s.96 IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee
• Imputed political opinion
• Credibility assessment
• State protection
• Internal flight alternative

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Godday v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)

Court

Federal Court

The Federal Court allowed judicial review of an H&C refusal, finding the officer unreasonably overlooked key evidence on de facto statelessness and remitted the matter.

• Humanitarian and compassionate grounds
• De facto statelessness
• Reasonableness review (vavilov)
• Costs (special reasons)
• Humanitarian-and-compassionate-grounds
• De-facto-statelessness

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VC1-00113

Court

Refugee Appeal Division

The RAD set aside the RPD decision and allowed the appeal, finding that Kuwaiti immigration regulations and practices—viewed in their historical and factual context of systemic discrimination against Palestinians—operate to deny the Appellant, a stateless Palestinian born and raised in Kuwait, the right to return and amount to state persecution; there is no state protection or viable internal flight alternative, and the Appellant is a Convention refugee.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee
• Persecution
• Right to return
• Laws of general application
• Cumulative discrimination
• Internal flight alternative

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TC0-01283

Court

Refugee Appeal Division

Although the RAD accepts many of the RPD's credibility concerns about the Appellant's claimed political/charitable activities and interrogation, the RPD failed to assess the perceptible ground of gender-based persecution; country evidence establishes a serious possibility of gender-based persecution of an unaccompanied woman in Syria and the Appellant cannot return to the UAE, therefore the RAD sets aside the RPD decision and substitutes a positive determination that the Appellant is a Convention refugee under paragraph 111(1)(b) IRPA.

Source excerpt

• Convention refugee determination
• Credibility findings
• Country of former habitual residence (cfhr)
• Admissibility of new evidence (s.110(4) irpa)
• Gender-based persecution
• Internal flight alternative

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