Volume IV

Issue : 17: October 19, 2006

• British House of Lords Broadens Protection for Journalists against Defamation Claims
• CIRA Allows Complaint Over comfort inn.ca
• Federal Court Finds Wikipedia Not a Reliable Source
• American Gambling Legislation Punts U.K Firms
• Florida Jury Condemns Defamatory Blog with $11.3 Million Damages Award
• Spamhaus Faces More Troubles in U.S. Courts
• Supreme Court of Canada Rules in Favour of Freelance Writers

Home > Volume IV > Issue 17: October 19, 2006 > Federal Court Finds Wikipedia Not a Reliable Source

Federal Court Finds Wikipedia Not a Reliable Source

On September 19, 2006, the Federal Court delivered its ruling in Fi v. Canada. This case was an application for judicial review of decision of a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) Officer of Immigration Canada. The PRRA Officer had rejected the applicant’s application for protection on both his nationality as a Palestinian and on imputed political opinion under section 112(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the Act). The PRRA Officer recognized that the applicant’s documentary evidence was enough to establish an “objective fear” by members of the Palestinian population in West Bank territories occupied by the Israeli army; however, the PRRA officer was not satisfied that “there is a ‘personalized risk’ of persecution, torture, risk to life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment”.

The court noted that the interpretation of a specific section of the Act should be assessed on the basis of correctness and the PRRA Officer’s finding of fact should not be impeached unless it was made in “perverse or capricious manner without regard to the evidence before the PRRA officer”. The court found that in this case, the PRRA Officer violated the applicant’s right to procedural fairness. Specifically, “the PRRA officer consulted relevant documentary extrinsic evidence found on the Internet, upon which the applicant was not given an opportunity to comment”.

The court ruled that “[i]n particular, the use of information from the Wikipedia website is highly questionable, as the reliability of its sources has not been demonstrated to the court”. For this and other reasons the court allowed the applicant’s application and set aside the decision of the PRRA Officer. It referred the matter back for re-determination by a different PRRA Officer.

This decision marks another in a series of decisions rejecting Wikipedia as an accepted authority for legal citation. In August, the Wall Street Journal reported that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had removed Wikipedia from its list of accepted sources of information.

For a copy of the decision, visit:

Fi v. Canada