Haoua v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)
This page is a summary and commentary on a publicly available court decision, written for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship with Azimi Law, regardless of how specific or applicable it may seem to your situation.
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The Facts
The applicant, a citizen of Chad, said that when her husband died she declined a levirate marriage — a custom under which a widow is expected to marry her late husband's brother whether or not she consents — and that her brother-in-law responded with violence and death threats. She left in October 2022, travelled through the United States, reached Canada in November 2022 and asked for protection. On April 2, 2025 the Refugee Protection Division refused her claim, finding credibility determinative and concluding under subsection 107(2) of the IRPA that there was no credible basis for the claim.
What the Court Decided
Justice Gleeson dismissed the application. The applicant had not shown the RPD's credibility findings were unreasonable; her arguments mostly advanced alternative interpretations of the evidence. A "no credible basis" finding requires that there be no credible or trustworthy evidence that could support a positive decision. The RPD did not question some documents, such as the marriage and birth certificates, but there was no credible and trustworthy evidence on the core elements of the claim: that her husband is dead or missing and that she is therefore at risk of a levirate marriage. The finding was reasonable.
“there was no credible and trustworthy evidence relating to the core elements of the claim – that the Applicant's husband is dead or missing and that as a result the Applicant is at risk of a levirate marriage”— Haoua v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 1209, para. 21
Does This Affect You?
- ✓Your refugee claim was refused with a "no credible basis" finding under subsection 107(2).
- ✓Your claim rests on a forced marriage or a family-based threat that the Board did not find credible.
- ✓You are deciding whether disagreeing with how the Board weighed your evidence is enough for judicial review.
Key Takeaways
- A "no credible basis" finding can stand even where some documents are accepted, if the core facts lack credible support.
- The Court asks whether the decision was reasonable, not whether a different conclusion was possible.
- A claim decided without a hearing on judicial review turns on the written record.