CASE CENTRE · IMMIGRATION LITIGATION · FOUNDATIONAL REFERENCE

Conille v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)

[1999] 2 FC 33 Federal Court October 30, 1998

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In short: A citizenship application sat for roughly three years because a security-intelligence investigation never finished. The Federal Court, Trial Division, granted mandamus and, in doing so, gave the three-part approach to unreasonable delay that courts still apply today.

The Facts

Mr. Conille applied for Canadian citizenship on August 7, 1995. His file never moved to a decision because a review by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, which had been asked to look into him, was still unfinished years later. Frustrated by the wait, he asked the Federal Court, Trial Division (today's Federal Court), for an order of mandamus directing the Minister's officials to process his application.

What the Court Decided

Justice Tremblay-Lamer allowed the application on October 30, 1998. Mandamus requires, among other things, a public legal duty that has not been performed after a demand; here the long inaction amounted to an implied refusal to act. To decide whether a delay is unreasonable, the Court looked at three questions: whether it ran longer than the process ordinarily requires, whether the applicant or counsel caused it, and whether the responsible authority has given a satisfactory explanation. The Court concluded that by letting its investigation continue with no end in sight, the security agency had effectively taken over decisions that the Act gives to the Registrar and the citizenship judge. The Court directed that the agency be required to justify continuing; if it could not, the application was to move on to a citizenship judge for decision.

Does This Affect You?

✓Your citizenship or immigration file has been pending far longer than the work ordinarily takes.
✓Your file appears to be held up behind a security or background review with no end date.
✓You are weighing whether a court application could force a decision to be made.

Key Takeaways

The delay test in this decision has three parts: unusually long, not caused by the applicant, and no satisfactory explanation from the decision-maker.
Mandamus compels a decision to be made; it does not dictate that the application be approved.
An outside agency's slow investigation does not excuse the delay if it effectively displaces the official who must decide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this case mean a court will order IRCC to approve my application?

No. The order in this case pushed the file toward a decision-maker; it did not tell anyone what the decision should be. Mandamus addresses inaction, not the merits.

Why is a 1998 decision still relevant?

Courts in later delay cases keep returning to the three questions it set out. It is the starting point for most arguments that an immigration or citizenship file has been left pending unreasonably.

Case summary written for Azimi Law's Case Centre, in the firm's own words, about [1999] 2 FC 33. The facts and outcome should be confirmed against the full text of the decision before publication. See the disclaimer above.