Digests

Deol v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)

IMM-1332-00

2001 FCT 694, Muldoon J.

22/6/01

19 pp.

Application for judicial review of decision of Appeal Division, Immigration and Refugee Board, dismissing applicant's appeal from decision of visa officer refusing immigrant visa to applicant's father, other family members on ground applicant's father medically inadmissible--In June 1993, applicant submitted undertaking of assistance to sponsor father, mother, sister, two brothers for admission to Canada from India--Father denied immigrant visa as found to be medically inadmissible under Immigration Act, s. 19(1)(a)(ii)--Suffering from severe degree of degenerative osteoarthritis in both knees, needing surgery--Medical officer determined father required specialist care, total knee replacement surgery, finding based squarely on available medical evidence--Onus on applicant's father to establish admissibility to Canada--"Fairness letter" sent to applicant's father inviting him to respond to medical evidence--Sufficient to meet requirements of procedural fairness by advising applicant's father of case he had to meet--Appeal Division correctly deciding scope of duty of fairness imposed on visa officers--Not open to applicant to argue Appeal Division should have considered family's willingness to pay--Bonding program not available at that stage of process--No obligation to pay--Applicant submitting Act, s. 19(1)(a)(ii) breaches Charter, s. 15(1), cannot be saved under s. 1--Act not rendering all persons with osteoarthritis inadmissible--Person with osteoarthritis inadmissible only if, after individual medical assessment, person likely to cause excessive demand on Canadian health services because of condition--S. 19(1)(a)(ii) having pressing, substantial objective, given current state of health care in Canada--Denying immigrant visa to foreigners likely to cause excessive demand on Canada's strained health care system rationally connected to objective--Effect proportional to objective because of availability of humanitarian and compassionate factors specific to particular individual--Court unable to offer applicant's father protection, comfort of Charter, as non-citizen residing in India--Application dismissed--Immigration Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. I-2, s. 19 (as am. by R.S.C., 1985 (3rd Supp.), c. 30, s. 3; S.C. 1992, c. 49, s. 11)--Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, being Part I of the Constitution Act, 1982, Schedule B, Canada Act 1982, 1982, c. 11 (U.K.) [R.S.C., 1985, Appendix II, No. 44], s. 15.