CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION |
Status in Canada |
Convention Refugees |
Yang v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)
IMM-6057-00
2001 FCT 1052, Dubé J.
26/9/01
11 pp.
Application for judicial review of decision by Immigration and Refugee Board applicant not Convention refugee--Applicant citizen of China--Convention refugee claim based on fear of persecution by authorities in China due to participation in Falun Gong movement--Falun Gong introduced in 1992, attracting more than one million people over world--Chinese government outlawed organization in July 1999--In October 1999, applicant fined 5,000 RMB, required to attend compulsory re-education class for 15 days--Board finding treatment suffered by applicant did not amount to persecution--Unable to conclude Falun Gong religion--Board should have found Falun Gong partly religion, partly social group--Clearly not political opinion--Meaning of "religion" under Immigration Act not yet clearly defined by case law--Determination of political opinion must be approached from point of view of persecutor since motive that incites persecution--Same reasoning applying with respect to religion--If Falun Gong considered by Government of China to be religion, it must be so for purposes of instant claim--Documentary evidence indicating Falun Gong derived from two traditional Chinese religions, Buddhism, Taoism--Falun Gong could also be considered as particular social group--Applicant took up practice of Falun Gong to fight depression--Falun Gong helped her to recognize true meaning of life, enrich culture, improve health--Board erred in law in application of Convention refugee definition by concluding adherence to Falun Gong beliefs, practice neither religion, nor particular social group--Application allowed--Question certified: What is the definition and the scope of the term "religion" used in the Convention refugee definition?--Immigration Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. I-2.