Abbasi v. MCI 2025 FC 442 from March 10, 2025, presided over by Justice Angus G. Grant, dismissing a judicial review application by Daryoush Abbasi against a "danger opinion" issued by a delegate of the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
This case highlights the challenges authorities face in removing individuals deemed dangerous, even with refugee protection, and the rigorous legal framework balancing public safety and non-refoulement obligations. It also underscores that past refugee status does not preclude deportation if current risks to society outweigh future risks to the individual. It also -troublingly -reveals significant delay in initiating and following through with inadmissibility and enforcement proceedings against a predator of young girls in Canada.
Daryoush Abbasi, a 46-year-old Iranian citizen, arrived in Canada in October 2000 and successfully claimed refugee status based on persecution in Iran due to his Baha'i faith. He became a permanent resident but developed a significant criminal history involving sexual offences against young, vulnerable female children. His convictions began in 2002 with a Sexual Interference charge (a 3 year suspended sentence) -the victim was a 13 year old girl with fetal alcohol syndrome.
In 2005 a report was written against him by a CBSA Officer but not referred to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing.
Abbasi continued his pattern of criminality -in 2007 he faced charges of sexual assault against another 13 year old girl. He wasn’t convicted and the charges, according to the Parole Board, were “not fully adjudicated”.
In April 2016 he was convicted of multiple convictions, including three counts of Sexual Interference, Sexual Assault, Uttering Threats, and others, resulting in a 12-year prison sentence. His crimes arose from him targeting three minors, including a 13-year-old girl with fetal alcohol syndrome who had the “cognitive level of a 6-year-old”, using alcohol and drugs to facilitate the crimes.
In 2018, immigration enforcement action was taken against him and the Immigration Division found Abbasi inadmissible to Canada for serious criminality and issued a deportation order.
But a danger opinion is necessary to deport a protected person and in January 2019 the CBSA initiated this process.
For some reason, this process took a little over 4 years.
In March 2023, the Minister’s Delegate issued a "danger opinion" under s.115(2)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), concluding that Abbasi posed a danger to the Canadian public, justifying his removal to Iran despite his refugee status.
Abbasi sought judicial review (filing the ALJR late), arguing the Delegate erred in assessing his risk of persecution in Iran, his progress in rehabilitation, and the balancing of Canada’s security interests against his rights. Justice Grant dismissed the application, finding the Delegate’s decision reasonable.
Key points:
Risk of Reoffending: The Delegate reasonably concluded Abbasi remained a danger to the public, citing his repeated targeting of vulnerable girls, lack of significant rehabilitation (despite program participation), and a Parole Board assessment placing him at the upper end of moderate risk for sexual recidivism.
Risk in Iran: The Delegate found little evidence Abbasi intended to practice his Baha'i or his apparently new found Christian faith openly in Iran, reducing his risk of persecution. While acknowledging potential risks if he did so, the Delegate’s analysis was deemed reasonable.
Balancing: The Delegate appropriately weighed the danger Abbasi posed to Canadian society (particularly female children) against the potential risks he faced in Iran and humanitarian factors (e.g., limited family ties, stable mental health), concluding removal was justified. The court granted an extension of time for Abbasi’s late filing due to legal aid delays but rejected his broader requests (e.g., restoring permanent resident status) as beyond the scope of the review.
The decision was upheld as transparent, intelligible, and justified.
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