Jayabalasingham v. Canada ( Minister of Citizenship and Immigration )
IMM-140-98
Richard A.C.J.
27/10/98
4 pp.
Judicial review of panel's decision internal flight alternative (IFA) available to applicant in Colombo, Sri Lanka-In considering whether unduly harsh or unreasonable in all circumstances to require claimant to relocate to Colombo, panel stating reference to "undue" in case law requiring some additional or extraordinary hardship in relation to claimant's circumstances, and in relation to IFA, bringing threshold beyond humanitarian, compassionate considerations, procedures provided in Immigration Act for persons other than Convention refugees-Thirunavukkarasu v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration), [1994] 1 F.C. 589 (C.A.) holding IFA must be sought if not unreasonable to do so in claimant's circumstances-Also framed question in terms of whether unduly harsh to expect claimant, who is being persecuted in one part of country to move to less hostile part before seeking refugee status abroad-Thus panel must be satisfied that in all circumstances, including those particularly applicable to this applicant, conditions in Columbo at all relevant times, such that objectively reasonable for applicant to seek refuge there-Panel elevated test by requiring "some additional or extraordinary hardship" in relation to claimant's circumstances and in relation to place of IFA-Misdirected itself in formulating test other than objectively reasonable test-Applicant sixty-something widow, with no relatives, friends, connections in Colombo, never working outside home, speaking neither English nor Sinhala, but only Tamil-Panel should have examined such circumstances in light of objectively reasonable test-Panel erred in law-Application allowed.