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Summary

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The Appellant, a citizen of Yugoslavia, had been granted permanent residence upon coming to Canada in 1997. But, in 2001, she was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for causing death by criminal negligence. She had been operating a motor vehicle when intoxicated and was involved in a fatal car crash.

As a result of this conviction, a removal order was issued against Ms. Medovarski on November 21, 2001, following a hearing by the Adjudication Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. On the same day, she filed an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Board ("IAD") against the order, Act alleging that, in all the circumstances, she should not be removed from Canada. A notice from the IAD, dated April 24, 2002, informed her that her appeal would be heard on September 26, 2002.

However, before Ms. Medovarski's appeal was heard, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, S.C. 2001, c. 27 ("IRPA") came into effect on June 28, 2002. Subsections 64(1) and (2) abolish the right of appeal by permanent residents against removal orders on the basis of, among other things, a conviction of a criminal offence for which they were sentenced in Canada to imprisonment for at least two years. In a letter dated August 12, 2002, the Registrar of the IAD advised Ms. Medovarski that her appeal had been discontinued as a result of the new legislation. This decision was overturned on a judicial review application, but the IAD's decision was restored by the Federal Court of Appeal.

Lower Court Rulings