The Federal Court has ruled on a recent case of ours involving a 'danger opinion'.
The decision can be found here.
A danger opinion can allow the removal of a person found to be a Convention Refugee or Person in Need of Protection back to their country of origin (Canada generally respects the principle of non-refoulement).
A danger opinion would also prevent an individual from being eligible to make a refugee claim in Canada.
In this case, a danger opinion was issued against the Applicant for his criminality in the US (a single conviction of impaired driving causing bodily harm). In this case, there was a breach of procedural fairness as the Minister relied on a non-disclosed 'tip' regarding the Applicant's alleged continuing issues with alcohol. Further, the Minister seemed to reverse the onus (requiring the Applicant to dispel the officer's concerns).
As a result, the danger opinion was set aside.
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