Federal Court says Québec lawyer demonstrated 'egregious incompetence' with 41 'bogus' refugee claims
Of those 41 claimants, a husband and wife came to Canada from Iran in 2020 to claim asylum for persecution based on their gender and political affiliation.
A Federal Court Justice is accusing a Québec lawyer of causing a miscarriage of justice and showing “gross and egregious incompetence” for filing “identical cut and paste” bogus claims for 41 refugees.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is investigating Louis Nadeau of Montreal for allegedly copying a false refugee story into the personal narrative of refugee clients as part of their Basis of Claim (BOC) form.
Justice Denis Gascon heard in court that Nadeau submitted a similar or identical narrative in 23 cases for 41 refugee claimants.
Of those 41 claimants, a husband and wife came to Canada from Iran in 2020 to claim asylum for persecution based on their gender and political affiliation.
The wife faced constant harassment outside her household because she supposedly did not wear her hijab correctly. The husband claims he faced imprisonment for political activities and could not leave the country for ten years.
Immigration Canada asked Facebook and Twitter to delete a Toronto Sun article alleging it contained “serious errors of fact [that undermine] public confidence in the… refugee system.”
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Owing to their resentment towards the Islamic caliphate of Iran, they converted to Christianity, the court heard.
The couple used a translator to fill out their BOC and noticed glaring errors, including claims the wife joined a woman’s group. Their lawyer told them not to worry about it, the court heard.
However, the Immigration Refugee Board (IRB) denied their claim as it lacked credibility, with a subsequent appeal refused.
Rachel Bourbeau, their new legal representation, appealed to the Federal Court to review the decision against claims of counsel’s incompetence.
“Nadeau’s carelessness undermined (the claimants’) credibility right from the start,” wrote Gascon in his decision. “I conclude that the incompetence of (the claimant’s) former counsel resulted in a miscarriage of justice and amounted to a violation of their right to procedural fairness.”
Gascon ostracized Nadeau for not assisting clients with filling their BOC forms and telling them not to amend them.
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“These missteps may not have been enough to find counsel’s incompetence leading to a procedural fairness violation. However, the cumulative effect of all these actions is amply sufficient to establish the incompetence of Nadeau,” said the decision.
“Nadeau’s legal representation was not only deficient on certain fronts but wholly lacking on all aspects of what a client can reasonably expect from a lawyer. Some of Nadeau’s advice appears to have been self-serving to protect himself from further allegations of professional misconduct.”
Bourbeau said her clients are “obviously satisfied with the decision.”
Nadeau faces a disciplinary complaint with the Barreau du Québec, the province’s regulatory body for lawyers, with his hearing scheduled to begin Wednesday. A CBSA spokesperson said they would not comment on the details for privacy reasons.
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