Bernard Assan

The applicant sought an interim order to enjoin the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness from deporting him to Somalia pending determination of his motion for leave to appeal and, if leave is granted, his appeal of a Superior Court decision dismissing his application for judicial review.

The applicant challenged the Minister's decision to remove him despite an Interim Measures Request from the United Nations Human Rights Committee requesting that removal be placed in abeyance.

The motion judge granted the interim order, finding that the applicant met all three prongs of the RJR-MacDonald test: a serious issue to be tried, irreparable harm if deported before appeal, and a balance of convenience favouring the extension of the injunction.

The applicant sought judicial review of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness' decision to refuse an Interim Measures Request (IMR) from the United Nations Human Rights Committee and proceed with the applicant's removal to Somalia.

The applicant, a permanent resident with serious mental health issues and criminal convictions, had been found inadmissible to Canada and subject to a deportation order.

The court addressed justiciability and jurisdiction, finding concurrent jurisdiction between the Ontario Superior Court and Federal Court over Crown prerogative matters.

The court found the Minister's decision reasonable and not requiring reasons, as it involved an exercise of Crown prerogative regarding international treaty obligations that are not binding on Canada domestically.

The appellant, a Jamaican citizen and former permanent resident of Canada, was detained for five years by the Canada Border Services Agency pending removal to Jamaica following a removal order based on serious criminality.

The appellant brought a habeas corpus application and sought Charter damages under sections 7, 9, and 12 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, alleging that his detention was arbitrary, indefinite, and constituted cruel and unusual treatment.

The application judge dismissed the Charter damages claim.

On appeal, the Court of Appeal upheld the dismissal, finding no breach of the Charter rights and clarifying that Charter damages claims cannot be joined to habeas corpus applications.

Following a successful habeas corpus application resulting in his release from immigration detention, the applicant sought costs on a partial indemnity basis.

The respondent opposed the quantum, arguing the applicant should have pursued judicial review in Federal Court.

The court found that the respondent had treated the matter as a test case to defend the jurisdiction of the Immigration Division, despite agreeing the applicant should be released.

The court awarded the applicant his full requested costs of $61,760.50 on a partial indemnity scale pursuant to section 24(1) of the Charter and Rule 57.01.

The applicant, a refugee claimant, sought a writ of habeas corpus to be released from immigration detention after being held for 17 months.

The detention was based on a series of alleged breaches of release conditions that were either inadvertent or based on errors by police and immigration authorities.

The Superior Court of Justice granted the application, finding that the continued detention lacked a valid purpose, was arbitrary, and violated the principles of fundamental justice under sections 7 and 9 of the Charter.

The court held that the Immigration Division's deference to the Canada Border Services Agency in determining breaches constituted procedural unfairness.