Pineda v MCI 2010 FC 538 Foreign Offenses evidence of commission

in Pineda v MCI 2010 FC J 538 the Federal Court set aside a decision of the Immigration and Refugee Board that had found that there were serious grounds to believe that the applicant had committed and offence and was hence excludable under Article 1 F (b). In that case the Member had before him the statements of the victim together with the warrant for arrest. However, the applicant adduced evidence that the charges had been withdrawn by the police and also adduced evidence from the complainant where she stated that the allegations were all false. The Member decided to give greater weight to the original statements and found against the Applicant. The Court held that the fact that the charges had been dismissed was not dispositive of the case and that it might be possible to render an adverse finding despite the dismissal. However the Court set aside the decision concluding that the tribunal had erred by not giving any weight to the withdrawal and by failing to consider the statement of the witness. The Court noted that the fact that the state where the charges had occurred had withdrawn them was particularly significant.