Pineda 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 applicants, a principal applicant and her brother as associate applicant, are siblings and citizens of Colombia. While working as an airline steward, the principal applicant was approached by the Clan del Golfo criminal organization, who assaulted her and ordered her to transport packages for them. After complying twice and then refusing, she resigned from her job and left Colombia with her brother in May 2022. They filed a claim for protection in Canada, which was referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) under an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement. In a decision dated August 26, 2024, the RPD refused their claim, finding they had a viable internal flight alternative (IFA) elsewhere in Colombia.
What the Court Decided
The Federal Court dismissed the application for judicial review, finding the RPD's internal flight alternative finding was reasonable.
Does This Affect You?
- ✓A refugee claim was refused because the Board found a safe part of your home country to relocate to.
- ✓You fled a criminal organization or gang and fear they can find you anywhere in the country.
- ✓You want to understand how high the bar is to overturn an internal flight alternative finding on judicial review.
Key Takeaways
- Internal flight alternative findings are one of the most common and hardest-to-overturn bases for refusing a refugee claim.
- Evidence of a persecutor's specific reach and motivation to pursue a claimant into the proposed IFA location is critical.
- Not every refugee case in this archive is a win — understanding a losing IFA argument is as useful as studying a successful one.