Following an inquiry, an adjudicator and an immigration refugee board member concluded that he did not have a credible basis for his refugee claim and issued an exclusion order. The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's application to review and set aside the decision under s. 28 of the Federal Court Act and upheld the order. The element of state compulsion is insufficient. The appellant's questioning in the secondary examination was a routine part of the general screening process for persons seeking entry to Canada. The questioning was purely for the purpose of processing his application for entry and determining the appropriate procedures which should be invoked in order to deal with his application for Convention refugee status.
Travellers seeking to cross national boundaries fully expect to be subject to a screening process.
In this case, there was no action on the part of the immigration authorities to indicate that the restriction on the appellant's freedom had gone beyond that required for the processing of his application for entry and had become a restraint of liberty. Further, there is no stigma associated with a referral to a secondary examination. The absence of stigma is another factor indicating that no detention of constitutional consequence occurs during routine questioning. It would be unreasonable to expect the screening process for all persons seeking entry into Canada to take place in the primary examination line. For those persons who cannot immediately produce documentation indicating their right of entry, the screening process requires more time and a referral to a secondary examination is therefore necessary.