Mitchell Perlmutter

The applicant, a citizen of Liberia living in a refugee camp in Ghana, applied for permanent residence in Canada as a Convention refugee abroad.

The migration officer rejected the application.

The applicant sought judicial review.

The Federal Court held the officer's decision was unreasonable because it lacked justification and transparency, particularly regarding the applicant's HIV status and the officer's reliance on internet research not put to the applicant.

The Court granted the judicial review and remitted the matter to a different officer.

The applicants, citizens of Togo residing in Ghana, sought judicial review of a decision refusing their application for permanent residence as members of the Convention refugee abroad class or the country of asylum class.

The Officer concluded the applicants had a durable solution in Ghana and were not Convention refugees.

The Federal Court found the Officer's decision unreasonable, as the Officer failed to justify the conclusion that the applicants were not Convention refugees and disregarded relevant evidence regarding the barriers they faced in obtaining Ghanaian citizenship and accessing services.

The application for judicial review was allowed.