Citation: 2007TCC487
Date: 20070821
Dockets: 96-3767(IT)I
96-3769(IT)I
96-4749(IT)G
97-34(IT)I
BETWEEN:
NORMAND LASSONDE,
Appellant,
and
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN,
Respondent.
[OFFICIAL ENGLISH
TRANSLATION]
REASONS FOR ORDER
Bowman C.J.
[1] The Appellant filed an application dated
July 27, 2007, for an order extending the time in which to file his
list of documents in the matter bearing the number 96‑4749(IT)G, and for an
adjournment of the hearing of the instant appeals, scheduled for September 4, 2007.
[2] For the following reasons, I am unwilling to grant the
application.
[3] We received the Respondent's written representations
in opposition to the application, as well as the Appellant's response to the
Respondent's written representations.
[4] On December 12, 1996, the Appellant appealed to this Court from a
notice of reassessment issued on September 7, 1993, in respect of the 1989 taxation year.
The proceedings before this Court were stayed pending a decision in McKeown v. The Queen, 2001 TCC
962732, which was rendered on March 12, 2001.
[5] On October 3 and October 4, 2002, Garon J., as he then was, held a
status hearing at which the Appellant stated that he intended to bring a motion
to dismiss the proceedings for unreasonable delay. The filing of the motion was
postponed several times at the Appellant's request. On
April 17, 2003, the motion was filed with the Registry of this Court.
Lamarre Proulx J. heard the motion on August 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15,
2003. On October 3, 2003, the Appellant's arguments were rejected
in a decision by Lamarre Proulx J. On October 4, 2005, the Federal Court of
Appeal dismissed an appeal from that decision. On April 20, 2006, the Supreme Court of Canada refused leave
to appeal.
[6] On June 29, 2006, Dussault J. gave the parties until November 30, 2006, to prepare and file their list of
documents. On December 29, 2006, the Respondent filed a motion to
dismiss the appeal by reason of delay because the Appellant still had not filed
his list of documents, as required by the order of Dussault J. On January 26, 2007, Angers J. gave the Appellant six more
months, that is to say, until July 27, 2007, to prepare and file his
list of documents. The reason that he granted so much time was that the
Appellant was experiencing health problems. Angers J. also set down the hearing
of these appeals for September 4, 2007. In his order, he clearly stated that a
failure to comply with this time limit would result in the dismissal of the
appeal without further notice. On the afternoon of July 27, 2007, the last day
of the period granted by Angers J., the Appellant filed a Notice of Motion.
[7] The motion is for an extension of time on the ground that
the Appellant is unable, by reason of his medical condition, to file and serve
his list of documents and appear at the hearing of this appeal, scheduled for September 4, 2007, as required by the order signed on
February 12, 2007.
[8] The Appellant's motion pertains to an appeal filed in
December 1996 with respect to the 1989 taxation year. Thus, nearly 11
years have elapsed, without significant progress, since the appeal was filed in
our Court. The Respondent has been ready to proceed
since October 2002, but the Appellant asked several times for the hearings,
and even the time limits, to be postponed, and those requests were always granted.
Our Court is also sensitive to the fact that the Appellant is representing
himself without counsel, which is what largely accounts for the great clemency
that the Appellant has enjoyed as far as compliance with time limits is
concerned.
[9] In the order signed on February 12, 2007, Angers J. was clear and unambiguous. He
specified as follows:
[TRANSLATION]
If the Appellant does not comply with this order, the
appeal shall be dismissed without any further notice or motion to dismiss the
appeal.
[10] It is in the interests of justice that this warning
not be derogated from, unless there are exceptional reasons to do so.
[11] As for the Appellant's medical condition, he was
content to submit what appears to be a medical prescription from May 2007 in
support of his motion. He did not file any recent medical certificate that
would enable me to comprehend the true nature of his health problems and assess
his ability to take part in the hearing.
[12] Our Court is certainly aware of the Appellant's state
of health, and, in his order of February 12, 2007,
Angers J. already granted him a six-month extension for that reason.
It should be recalled that, on June 29, 2006, we gave the Appellant a more than
reasonable amount of time in which to prepare and file his list of documents.
As a result, in total, the Appellant has had the benefit of 13 months in which
to prepare and file his list of documents.
[13] Consequently, I am of the opinion that it is
appropriate, in the instant case, to dismiss the Appellant's motion for an
extension of the time in which to prepare and file his list of documents
contemplated in the order signed on February 12, 2007. Given the
context, I will also proceed to dismiss this appeal because the Appellant has
failed to comply with the order of Angers J. signed on February 12, 2007.
Signed at Saskatoon, Canada, this
21st day of August 2007.
Bowman C.J.
Translation
certified true
on this 30th day
of January 2008.
Brian McCordick,
Translator
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