A man took a tour company and its director to the BC Supreme Court over immigration services he argued it wasn’t authorized to provide.
Hamed Hakimzadehasl racked up about $63,000 in charges from Silk Road Tours Ltd. over help immigrating to Canada. Hakimzadehasl first met with Hossein Lotfi, the company’s director, in West Vancouver in 2019 to help bring his Iran-based toiletry business over.
He alleged Lotfi created the impression that he was “fully authorized” to act on Hakimzadehasl’s behalf for his immigration file. The two entered into a contract, which Hakimzadehasl later argued should be void because it was illegal.
He alleged that Silk Road acted deceptively and unconscionably without authorization to help him with immigration matters under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. What’s more, he was never allowed to come permanently to Canada.
“The defendants did not provide the services other than taking me on a trip to the Sunshine Coast,” Hakimzadehasl said in a deposition. “In Squamish, Mr. Lotfi met with some doctors on a different file, and he took some photographs of me in front of some offices. He told me that photographs like that would help me in my application. On our Sunshine Coast trip, we visited a restaurant where Mr. Lotfi advised me that he would ask the restaurant owner to send my spouse an invitation letter for work.”
Lotfi, on the other hand, argued his role was only to be a business consultant and help with translation. He said he also offered to refer Hakimzadehasl to legal professionals. Not all of the $63,000 for his time on the matter was paid.
Silk Road said it referred the Hakimzadehasl to two different immigration lawyers, signed him up for English proficiency testing, and looked into getting a Vancouver business licence.
The two immigration lawyers worked on Hakimzadehasl’s applications, but both were denied at the provincial and federal levels. Silk Road also hired another person who later became a certified immigration consultant to help Hakimzadehasl through the process.
To complicate matters further, Hakimzadehasl apparently loaned Lotfi $4,000 in March 2020.
Judge Jasmin Ahmad released her interpretation of the matter this week. She said there wasn’t enough evidence to establish either side’s story definitively. Additional oral discovery, cross-examination, or affidavits could bring the matter back to court. But as it stands, she couldn’t say for certain if Silk Road acted deceptively.