Chen v. Canada ( Minister of Citizenship and Immigration )
IMM-3945-94
Gibson J.
5/10/95
11 pp.
Application for judicial review of CRDD's decision applicant not Convention refugee-Applicant, citizen of People's Republic of China, arrived in Canada in 1993-Claim based on well-founded fear of persecution by reason of political opinion and membership in particular social group-Applicant's wife required to undergo abortion in late stages of pregnancy as child would have been couple's third-Applicant fined large sum-Detained and beaten as result of complaining of selective enforcement of one-child policy-Participated in pro-democracy movement in May 1989-Arrested by police-Escaped-CRDD's decision based mainly on matter of credibility-Application dismissed-Preliminary issue: applicant seeking to have issue of credibility reviewed by asking audio tape of hearing be considered part of record-Denied: written material before Court, together with counsel's arguments, sufficient to allow Court to effectively dispose of judicial review-However, issue serious question of general importance-CRDD did not err in relying as it did on documentary evidence (magazine article) submitted on behalf of respondent-CRDD's conclusion treatment experienced by applicant following arrest for breach of one-child policy reasonably open to it on evidence-Questioning of applicant by Refugee Hearing Officer did not breach duty to act fairly-CRDD's conclusion regarding credibility of applicant reasonably open to it-Following question certified: Do audio tape recordings of refugee determination hearings constitute part of record, such that they should be considered on judicial review, where they may reveal relevant evidence or information, such as particular characteristics of witness' demeanour, not otherwise discernable from other components of record?