Zrig v. Canada

Zrig v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [2003] 3 FCR 761, 2003 FCA 178 (CanLII)

http://canlii.ca/t/4h4j

• Claimant is a former participant in the Ennahda movement in Tunisia who had certain significant leadership roles
• This is an exclusion case under 1F(b) which predates the Ezokola (2013) “voluntary, significant and knowing contribution” test and Febles (2014)
• This case (Zrig) decides that the complicity analysis from Ramirez, which dealt with 1F(a), can be imported into the 1F(b) serious non-political crime context

o The personal and knowing participation test has now been replaced by the voluntary, knowing and significant contribution test from Ezokola, which deals with 1F(a) exclusion.

o In Ezokola, Zrig is mentioned only by name but not discussed in any substantive way

• The Court also held as follows re: the purpose of 1F(b)

o This Court could not accept the opinion, apparently favoured by Bastarache and La Forest JJ. in Pushpanathan and Ward, that exclusion under 1F(b) is limited to those charged with serious non-political crimes who seek to evade prosecution.

o Thus, this case can be seen as a precursor for the SCC’s judgment in Febles and its interpretation of the purpose behind 1F(b).