The applicant must serve its supporting affidavit(s) and documentary exhibits within 30 days after the issuance of the notice of application. Once served, they must be filed with the Registry, along with proof of service.

Generally, the purpose of the affidavit is to lay the factual background for the application, including the circumstances surrounding how the CRA made its decision. The affidavit is also used to introduce relevant documents, which are attached to the affidavit as documentary exhibits.

Unless special circumstances, a judicial review generally proceeds on the basis of the materials that were before the decision-maker (CRA). Therefore, attempts at introducing other materials could be objectionable.

Make sure to provide all the relevant facts and attach all the relevant documents to the affidavit(s). When reading the affidavit(s), the Court should be able to connect all the dots.

How to Write an Affidavit?

An affidavit must be written in the first person (“I”) and use Form 80A of the Federal Courts Rules. An affidavit must generally contain facts within the deponent’s personal knowledge. If the deponent refers to a document in the affidavit, the document should be attached to the affidavit as an exhibit. For example:

I received a letter dated December 12, 2014 from Mr. John Doe of the Canada Revenue Agency. Attached as Exhibit “A” is a true copy of that letter.

At the end of the affidavit, a copy of the letter should be marked as Exhibit “A” and endorsed by the person before whom the affidavit is sworn (the commissioner of oath or the lawyer).

Last updated: October 9, 2016