Federal Court of Canada Dismisses Judicial Review Applications in H and C and PRRA Cases

Strategic Insights -

The Honourable Madam Justice Heneghan has issued a decision dismissing two judicial review applications in the cases of Abel Rotimi Adegboye and Deborah Oluwaseun Adegboye, and their minor son Obaloluwa Josiah Adegboye, against the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. The Applicants, citizens of Nigeria, had sought judicial review of decisions related to their Humanitarian and Compassionate ("H and C") grounds application and their Pre-Removal Risk Assessment ("PRRA") application.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Applicants, who are citizens of Nigeria, had previously applied for refugee status in Canada, which was dismissed on June 9, 2021.
  • Their H and C application was dismissed on June 12, 2023, on the grounds that their level of establishment in Canada did not warrant the positive exercise of discretion.
  • The PRRA application was dismissed on July 4, 2023, as the Officer was not satisfied that the Applicants were at risk in Nigeria.
  • The Applicants argued that the Officer failed to consider evidence about their establishment, including their work in essential home-care during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The Applicants also argued that the Officer breached their right to procedural fairness and unreasonably assessed country condition evidence.
  • The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration argued that the Officer made no reviewable error and that the decisions meet the applicable standards of review.
  • The Court found that the Officer did not breach the Applicants' right to procedural fairness and that the decisions were reasonable.
  • The Court dismissed the applications for judicial review in both cause numbers IMM-8308-23 and IMM-13717-23.

Statistics:

  • The Applicants had applied for refugee status in Canada on an unspecified date.
  • Their H and C application was dismissed on June 12, 2023.
  • The PRRA application was dismissed on July 4, 2023.
  • The Applicants had worked in essential home-care during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • The Court heard both applications for judicial review on the same day.
  • The applications were heard on June 24, 2025.

Sources:

  • Federal Court of Canada, 2025 FC 1141
  • Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27
  • Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65 (CanLII), [2019] 4 S.C.R. 653
  • Khosa, 2009 SCC 12 (CanLII), [2009] 1 S.C.R. 339
  • Covid-19 pandemic