Date:
20130618
Docket:
T-530-12
Citation:
2013 FC 670
[UNREVISED
ENGLISH CERTIFIED TRANSLATION]
Ottawa, Ontario,
June 18, 2013
PRESENT: The
Honourable Madam Justice Gagné
BETWEEN:
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AURÈLE MORIN
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Plaintiff
(Respondent)
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and
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HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
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Defendant
(Moving Party)
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REASONS FOR
JUDGMENT AND JUDGMENT
I.
Introduction
[1]
The
Court has before it a motion for summary judgment brought by the defendant, Her
Majesty the Queen, under rule 213 of the Federal Courts Rules,
SOR/98-106 [FCR] with respect to an action for damages by the plaintiff, Mr. Aurèle Morin,
claiming $1,300,000 for: (i) loss of enjoyment and physical and moral damages
that he suffered because the application by his wife, Ms. Yu Han, for a
temporary resident visa dated November 15, 2006, was rejected; and (ii) loss
of enjoyment and physical and moral damages that he suffered because his wife’s
application for permanent residence dated April 30, 2007, was rejected.
[2]
This
motion is based essentially on the lack of a genuine issue for trial. The
defendant submits that the plaintiff has not alleged any fault by her employees
of a sort that would give rise to liability and that therefore his action in
damages is clearly wrong in law. In her written motion, the defendant also
argued that the action is out of time, an argument that was abandoned at the
hearing.
[3]
The
defendant has convinced the Court of the merits of her arguments and, accordingly,
for the reasons stated herein, her motion will be granted.
II.
Facts and proceedings
[4]
The
following facts are not in dispute.
[5]
The
plaintiff is an 82‑year old Canadian citizen and resides in Montréal. A
teacher by profession, he is now retired and lives alone.
[6]
In
December 2003, the plaintiff decided to take the necessary steps to have his
neighbour’s sister, Yu Han, a 41‑year old Chinese woman, come to
Canada as a live‑in caregiver, to keep him company and assist him with
his household and domestic tasks.
[7]
By
letter dated October 12, 2004, the plaintiff requested [translation] “the good services of Immigration
to show understanding and cooperation” with respect to his plan.
[8]
At
the suggestion of Citizenship and Immigration Canada [CIC], the plaintiff entered
into a Live-in Caregiver Contract of Employment with Ms. Han, in which she
agreed to take care of the plaintiff, prepare his meals and handle the household
and domestic tasks, at a salary of $8.00 an hour for 40 hours of work per week.
The plaintiff agreed to provide Ms. Han with accommodation and
furnishings, food and [translation]
“everything she needs”.
[9]
On
August 8, 2005, the plaintiff’s offer of employment was accepted by Human
Resources and Skills Development Canada and by Quebec’s Minister of Immigration
and Cultural Communities [MICCQ]. However, on April 6, 2006, the MICCQ rejected
Ms. Han’s application for an acceptance certificate as a live‑in
caregiver because she did not have a working knowledge of French or English as required
by paragraphs 112(d) and 113(1)(g) of the Immigration and Refugee
Protection Regulations, SOR/2002-227
[Regulations].
[10]
Following
this refusal, Ms. Han filed an application for a temporary resident visa
for a six‑month period together with a letter of invitation signed by the
plaintiff dated May 17, 2006, stating that the plaintiff was a friend whom
she wanted to get to know. A visa officer rejected the application on
August 3, 2006, because he was not satisfied that Ms. Han would leave
Canada by the end of the period authorized for her stay in accordance with
paragraph 179(b) of the Regulations.
[11]
The
plaintiff says that he then decided to [translation]
“change Yu Han’s foreign national status to family status” in order to
permit her to enter and reside in Canada. The plaintiff went to China from
October 27 to November 21, 2006. He married Ms. Han on
November 6, 2006, and the couple travelled to Beijing on November 15,
2006, to file an application for a temporary visa for Ms. Han with the
Canadian Embassy so that she could accompany her husband to Canada. This
application was rejected the same day on the ground that Ms. Han had not
demonstrated her intention to leave Canada by the end of the period authorized
for her stay.
[12]
In
the plaintiff’s view, that was the first fault by the defendant’s officers that
gave rise to her liability with respect to the plaintiff and for which he
claims $650,000.
[13]
Ms. Han
did not seek judicial review of that decision, and she and the plaintiff
preferred to take other steps to achieve their goals. They filed an application
for permanent residence in the family class. On April 30, 2007, after
interviewing the plaintiff and his wife, a visa officer rejected her
application for permanent residence on the ground that the marriage was not genuine
and was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring status in Canada for
Ms. Han under subsection 4(1) of the Regulations, as it read at that
time.
[14]
That
was the second fault committed by the defendant’s agents against the plaintiff
and for which he claims $650,000.
[15]
In
her decision, the officer considered the plaintiff’s numerous attempts to obtain
an entry visa into Canada for Ms. Han; the plaintiff’s stated intentions
that Ms. Han become his housekeeper not his wife; the fact that Ms. Han
demonstrated limited knowledge about the plaintiff’s life in Canada; the age
difference between the spouses and the absence of a celebration of their
marriage in accordance with Chinese tradition. All this appears to have
convinced the officer that the relationship was not genuine within the meaning
of subsection 4(1) of the Regulations.
[16]
The
plaintiff appealed this decision to the Immigration Appeal Division [IAD]. This
appeal de novo was dismissed on December 10, 2007, essentially on
the same grounds raised by the visa officer. Before the IAD, the plaintiff
argued that he had been shocked by the fact that his numerous applications to
obtain a visa for Ms. Han had been rejected and that he had decided to
marry her to make it easier for her to obtain an entry visa to Canada.
[17]
The
IAD noted at the outset that the plaintiff “did not understand the relevance of
various sections of the (Immigration and Refugee Protection) Act and its
objectives” and that his marriage, based on his own testimony, was an [translation] “alternative” to permit Ms. Han
to come to Canada and work as a housekeeper at the plaintiff’s home. The IAD also
noted that in addition to the plaintiff’s admission that his marriage had been entered
into for immigration purposes, the plaintiff and his wife had not spent a
significant period of time together to get to know each other. In fact, they
met only a few weeks before the marriage, and the plaintiff admitted that he
had decided to marry Ms. Han even before he met her. Accordingly, the IAD found
that the purpose of the sponsorship was, first and foremost, to enable Ms. Han
to come to Canada and join her sister.
[18]
The
plaintiff waited four years before seeking judicial review of this IAD decision
by this Court. His motion for an extension of time to file an application for
leave and judicial review was dismissed on August 24, 2011 (IMM-3085-11).
[19]
After
the first appeal to the IAD was dismissed, Ms. Han filed a second
application for a permanent resident visa in the spouse class. On June 30,
2008, that application was rejected by a different visa officer on the ground
that, in his opinion, the marriage between the spouses was entered into
primarily for the purpose of acquiring a status for Ms. Han and that the
marriage was not genuine.
[20]
The
plaintiff again appealed that decision to the IAD, which considered the fresh
evidence presented by the plaintiff (such as photographs, telephone bills, his
insurance policy that Ms. Han was the beneficiary of and proof of a recent
trip in China (February 6 to March 7, 2008)) and concluded in a
decision dated January 8, 2009, that this evidence added nothing from
which the IAD could conclude that the marriage was genuine since its decision
of December 10, 2007. Moreover, the IAD noted that all the information
presented by the plaintiff confirmed the admitted fact that his marriage had
primarily been entered into “for immigration purposes” and that, in admitting
this fact, the plaintiff showed he did not understand the statutory provisions that
apply to applications to sponsor a spouse.
[21]
The
plaintiff challenged the dismissal of his second appeal in this Court, but the
application for leave and judicial review was dismissed on April 27, 2009,
because of the plaintiff’s failure to file his record (IMM-352-09).
[22]
On
March 12, 2012, the plaintiff filed this action for damages. He is
representing himself in the action as he is on this motion.
[23]
On
April 11, 2012, the defendant filed a defence in which she argues that the
plaintiff has not alleged any fault on her part that could give rise to the
damages he is claiming and that the defendant’s employees did not commit any
fault; that the plaintiff cannot, through an action for damages, challenge the
decisions the legality of which the Court has confirmed; that the harm alleged
by the plaintiff is not attributable to the defendant but solely to the choices
and decisions made by the plaintiff himself and, finally that the plaintiff’s
action against the defendant for faults allegedly committed on
November 15, 2006, and April 30, 2007, are statute‑barred. As
stated above, the defendant conceded at the hearing of its motion that, pursuant
to section 31 of the Crown Liability and Proceedings Act, RSC 1985,
c C‑50, a six‑year limitation applied to the plaintiff’s action
since the cause of action arose outside the province, i.e. in China. The Court
shares the defendant’s opinion and accordingly this ground for dismissal will
not be analyzed.
[24]
On
April 24, 2012, the plaintiff filed a reply to the plaintiff’s defence,
and the plaintiff’s examination after defence took place on June 21 and
September 13, 2012, following which the defendant filed this notice of
motion for summary judgment on November 14, 2012.
III.
General principles governing motions for summary
judgment
[25]
To
succeed on her motion for summary judgment (see the relevant provisions of the
FCR in the Annex) and to have the plaintiff’s statement of claim dismissed, the
defendant must establish that, as presented, the case “is so doubtful
that it does not deserve consideration by the trier of fact at a future trial”.
However, before making that finding, the Court “must proceed
with care, as the effect of the granting of summary judgment will be to
preclude [the
plaintiff]
from presenting any evidence at trial with respect to the issue in dispute. In
other words, the [the plaintiff] will lose its ‘day in court’”(see Source
Enterprises Ltd v Canada (Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness),
2012 FC 966 at para 20‑21).
[26]
It
is a well‑established principle laid down by the Supreme Court and
applied by our Court that, although the onus is on the moving party to establish
that there is no genuine issue for trial, the respondent (in this case the
plaintiff) must “put its best foot forward” to demonstrate that its claim has
“a real chance of success” (see Hercules Managements Ltd v Ernst & Young,
[1997] 2 S.C.R. 165 at
para 15; and Baron v Canada, [2000] FCJ No 263 at
para 24) on the usual standard of a balance of probabilities (Teva Canada
Ltd v Wyeth LLC, 2011 FC 1169 at para 35‑37).
[27]
In
Granville Shipping Co v Pegasus Lines Ltd, [1996] 2 FC 853 (TD) at
para 8, Justice Tremblay‑Lamer stated the following:
I
have considered all of the case law pertaining to summary judgment and I
summarize the general principles accordingly:
1. the
purpose of the provisions is to allow the Court to summarily dispense with
cases which ought not proceed to trial because there is no genuine issue to be
tried (Old Fish Market Restaurants Ltd. v. 1000357 Ontario Inc. et al);
2. there is no
determinative test (Feoso Oil Ltd. v. Sarla (The)) but Stone J.A. seems
to have adopted the reasons of Henry J. in Pizza Pizza Ltd. v. Gillespie.
It is not whether a party cannot possibly succeed at trial, it is whether
the case is so doubtful that it does not deserve consideration by the trier of
fact at a future trial;
3. each
case should be interpreted in reference to its own contextual framework (Blyth
and Feoso);
4. provincial
practice rules (especially Rule 20 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure,
[R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 194]) can aid in interpretation (Feoso and Collie);
5. this
Court may determine questions of fact and law on the motion for summary
judgment if this can be done on the material before the Court (this is broader
than Rule 20 of the Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure) (Patrick);
6. on
the whole of the evidence, summary judgment cannot be granted if the necessary
facts cannot be found or if it would be unjust to do so (Pallman and Sears);
7. in
the case of a serious issue with respect to credibility, the case should go to
trial because the parties should be cross-examined before the trial judge (Forde
and Sears). The mere existence of apparent conflict in the evidence does
not preclude summary judgment; the court should take a "hard look" at
the merits and decide if there are issues of credibility to be resolved (Stokes
).
[Emphasis added;
references omitted]
[28]
Reference
should also be made to the Supreme Court’s teachings in Canada (Attorney
General) v Lameman, 2008 SCC 14 at para 10‑11 [Lameman]:
. . .
The summary judgment rule serves an important purpose in the civil litigation
system. It prevents claims or defences that have no chance of success
from proceeding to trial. Trying unmeritorious claims imposes a heavy
price in terms of time and cost on the parties to the litigation and on the
justice system. It is essential to the proper operation of the justice
system and beneficial to the parties that claims that have no chance of success
be weeded out at an early stage. Conversely, it is essential to justice
that claims disclosing real issues that may be successful proceed to trial.
For
this reason, the bar on a motion for summary judgment is high. The
defendant who seeks summary dismissal bears the evidentiary burden of showing
that there is “no genuine issue of material fact requiring trial”: Guarantee
Co. of North America v. Gordon Capital Corp., [1999] 3 S.C.R. 423, at para. 27. The
defendant must prove this; it cannot rely on mere allegations or the pleadings:
1061590 Ontario Ltd. v. Ontario Jockey Club, (1995), 21 O.R. (3d) 547
(C.A.); Tucson Properties Ltd. v. Sentry Resources Ltd, (1982), 22 Alta.
L.R. (2d) 44 (Q.B. (Master)), at pp. 46-47. If the defendant does prove
this, the plaintiff must either refute or counter the defendant’s evidence, or
risk summary dismissal: Murphy Oil Co. v. Predator Corp. (2004), 365
A.R. 326, 2004 ABQB 688, at p. 331, aff’d, (2006), 55 Alta. L.R. (4th) 1, 2006
ABCA 69. Each side must “put its best foot forward” with respect to the
existence or non-existence of material issues to be tried: Transamerica Life
Insurance Co. of Canada v. Canada Life Assurance Co., (1996), 28 O.R. (3d)
423 (Gen. Div.), at p. 434; Goudie v. Ottawa (City), [2003] 1 S.C.R.
141, 2003 SCC 14, at para. 32. The chambers judge may make inferences of fact
based on the undisputed facts before the court, as long as the inferences are
strongly supported by the facts: Guarantee Co. of North America, at
para. 30.
[Emphasis
added.]
IV. Analysis
[29]
As
stated above, the defendant submits that the plaintiff’s statement of claim
raises no triable issue and that it is clearly wrong in law because the facts that
the respondent attributes to her employees are based on an erroneous
understanding of the provisions that apply to his applications to CIC and are
not the type of faults that give rise to liability on her part. Therefore, in the
defendant’s view, it is in the interests of justice and judicial economy to put
an end to this litigation without holding a trial (Lameman, above, at
para 10).
[30]
The
plaintiff’s statement of claim refers essentially to the two unfavourable
decisions he is challenging: the rejection of Ms. Yu Han’s application for
a temporary resident visa dated November 15, 2006, and the rejection of
her application for permanent residence dated April 30, 2007. In passing,
it should be noted that the plaintiff is asking the Court to strike and exclude
from the record the exhibits tendered by the defendant concerning the steps the
plaintiff took after those two decisions. This request is, however, baseless
because the exhibits in question are not relevant to the litigation. Moreover,
in view of the principle governing summary judgments to the effect that each
side puts its best foot forward and adduces all the evidence that it might
bring forward at trial (see Bearspaw Band of the Stoney Band v. Canada,
2006 FC 435 at para 36‑37), the Court must be reluctant to exclude
evidence whose relevance is not seriously questioned by the party that seeks
its exclusion.
Plaintiff’s
attempt to amend
[31]
In
his response to the notice of motion for summary judgment dated
December 3, 2012, the plaintiff asks the Court to increase the amount of
his claim by $700,000 in punitive and exemplary damages for a new total of
$2,000,000.
[32]
Furthermore,
in an undated document entitled [translation]
Preliminary information for the Court to clarify the record, given
to the Court at the beginning of the hearing, the plaintiff is now claiming (i)
$650,000 for the defendant’s refusal dated August 2, 2006, to issue the
temporary visa requested by Ms. Han (no such cause of action is identified
in the plaintiff’s statement of claim); (ii) $650,000 for the defendant’s
refusal dated November 15, 2006, to issue the temporary visa requested by
Ms. Han; (iii) $650,000 for the defendant’s refusal dated April 30,
2007, to issue the permanent visa requested by Ms. Han; and (iv) $1,200,000
[translation] “against the officer
as a lesson and exemplary damages” for a total of $3,150,000. Last, the plaintiff
asks the Court to order the defendant to send the permanent resident visa so
sought after by Ms. Han to his address.
[33]
First,
under rules 75(1) and 200 of the FCR, the amendment of a pleading to
which the opposing party has pleaded may be done only with that party’s consent
or with leave of the Court. Since the plaintiff has not obtained either, the
Court will not consider these additional grievances and claims.
[34]
Moreover,
even if the Court had to consider the amendments to the plaintiff’s claim after
his statement of claim was filed, this would have no impact on the outcome of
the motion for summary judgment because the amendments did not improve the
plaintiff’s position. On the contrary and, as stated below, they only confirm
his frivolous and abusive position.
Decision of November
15, 2006
[35]
In
his statement of claim dated March 12, 2012, the plaintiff does not raise
any “fault” by act, omission or negligence, attributable to the immigration
officer at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing or to the defendant. He simply
disputes the visa officer’s decision dated November 15, 2006, refusing to
issue a temporary visa to his wife. The plaintiff submits that the officer
failed to observe a principle of natural justice or procedural fairness; that
he issued a decision in a perverse or capricious manner without regard to the
material before him and that he erred in law in making his decision. Assuming
that these are legitimate grounds for judicial review under subsection 18.1(4)
of the Federal Courts Act, RSC 1985, c F‑7, these allegations cannot
ground an action for damages.
[36]
Although
the courts have consistently held (Canada (Attorney General)
v TeleZone, 2010 SCC
62; Canada (Attorney General) v McArthur,
2010 SCC
63; Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd v Canada
(Agriculture and Agri‑Food), 2010 SCC
64; Nu-Pharm Inc v Canada (Attorney General),
2010 SCC
65; Canadian Food Inspection Agency v.
Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, 2010 SCC
66; and Manuge v Canada, 2010 SCC
67), that failure to seek judicial review of an administrative
decision does not preclude an action for damages against the public authority,
the fact remains that such an action cannot be based on simple grounds that
give rise to judicial review.
[37]
At
the risk of repeating myself, in this case, the plaintiff has not demonstrated a
genuine issue for trial, and there is no evidence of any “fault” on the part of
the defendant or one of her officer employees, be it by act, omission or
negligence.
[38]
In
Farzam v Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2005 FC 1659,
similar to the plaintiff’s action, a plaintiff was suing the Crown for damages
he said he had suffered following his marriage breakdown, allegedly caused by
the negligence of immigration officers in processing the plaintiff’s Minister’s
Permit and his wife’s permanent resident visa. Justice Martineau wrote the
following at paragraph 82:
Crown liability is vicarious, not direct. In order
for the Crown to be liable, a plaintiff must show that a Crown servant or
servants, acting within the scope of employment, breached a duty that was owed
to the plaintiff. The plaintiff must also establish that the breach caused the
plaintiff injury of a sort that would attract personal liability against a
private person. The relevant portion of section 3 of the Crown Liability and
Proceedings Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-50, as amended by S.C. 1990, c. 8, s. 21
(the CLPA) provides as follows: ‘the Crown is liable in tort for the damages
for which, if it were a private person of full age and capacity, it would be
liable (a) in respect of a tort committed by a servant of the Crown. The liability
arising under subsection 3 of the CLPA is qualified by section 10: ‘No
proceedings lie against the Crown by virtue of the paragraph 3(a) in respect of
any act or omission of a servant of the Crown unless the act or omission would
apart from the provision of this Act have given rise to a cause of action in
tort against that servant or that servant’s personal representative.’
[39]
At
paragraphs 93 and following of his decision, Justice Martineau found,
applying the test set out by the Supreme Court in Cooper v Hobart,
[2001] 3 S.C.R. 537 at para 30 [Cooper], that the Crown and its public servants
did not owe a duty of care to the plaintiff simply because of the implementation
of the Canadian immigration policy established and recognized by statute. The
Court went farther by concluding that, even if the plaintiff had established a prima
facie duty of care, at the second stage of analyzing the Cooper
test, compelling residual policy considerations justify the Court to deny the liability
of the persons responsible for the administrative implementation of immigration
policies.
[40]
In
this case, it is precisely the operational implementation of the Act and its
regulations that the plaintiff is challenging. In his written representations,
as on his cross‑examination, he emphasized the fact that after the
marriage, Ms. Han was authorized to come to Canada with her husband and
that the immigration officer could not reject her application for a temporary
resident visa on the ground that she would not leave Canada by the end of the
period authorized for her stay. Before the Court, the plaintiff even candidly
acknowledged that he had chosen to request a temporary visa because, not
knowing Ms. Han, he wanted to maintain the option of returning her to
China if their personalities were not compatible or if he was not benefitting
from their arrangement.
[41]
It
is clear that the marriage of Ms. Han and the plaintiff does not change
the conditions for issuing a temporary resident visa. Even if the plaintiff
succeeded in proving damages and in demonstrating a causal connection with the
visa officer’s refusal to issue this visa, the alleged facts cannot constitute
a fault attributed to the defendant or her officer, who merely applied the law (paragraph 20(1)(b)
of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27 [Act]
and paragraph 179(b) of the Regulations). In order to be granted a
temporary resident visa, Ms. Han had to demonstrate that she intended to
return to China by the end of the authorized period, which she did not even
attempt to do.
Decision
of April 30, 2007
[42]
The
same reasoning applies to the rejection of Ms. Han’s application for a permanent
resident visa. The plaintiff cannot rely on grounds for judicial review, as he
did in his statement of claim, to justify an action for damages even though all
his administrative applications had been unsuccessful including his
applications for judicial review before this Court. On his cross‑examination,
the plaintiff stated that he faulted the visa officer for considering the
history of his wife’s immigration applications, both at their interview and in
his decision. The plaintiff claims that he was shocked by the questions the
officer asked him regarding the genuineness of his marriage with Ms. Han. Moreover,
he alleges that the interview with the spouses should have taken place in Canada,
not China, which would have happened had Ms. Han’s application for
temporary residence been approved in November 2006.
[43]
As
stated above, none of the facts the plaintiff relies on constitutes a fault
attributable to the visa officer who rejected the application for temporary
residence; on the contrary, that decision is well founded in fact and in law.
It is clear that all applications for permanent residence in the family class
must be determined in accordance with subsection 12(1) of the Act and
section 4 of the Regulations. These provisions require that spouses or
common law partners have acted in good faith by proving that their relationship
is genuine and that it was not entered into primarily for the purpose of
acquiring a status or privilege under the Act.
[44]
Before
the officer, the plaintiff admitted that, in the beginning, he did not intend
to marry Ms. Han but wanted to hire her as a live‑in caregiver so
that she could take care of him and his house. He never contradicted himself on
this point, either before the officer or before the IAD. In this Court, the
plaintiff even argued that because Ms. Han was refused an entry visa, he
was forced to marry her to achieve his goals. In other words, if all his
previous applications had not been rejected, he would not have had to marry Ms. Han
unless, obviously, their employer‑employee relationship had evolved in
that direction. After all, the plaintiff tells us, they would have been alone
in his house.
[45]
It
is clear from all these allegations that the plaintiff’s action is based on an
erroneous perception of the requirements and statutory procedures that apply to
the steps he took to bring Ms. Han to Canada. The Court is perfectly aware
that the plaintiff simply wanted to continue living in his own home without
being a burden on his only son. However, the plaintiff’s action does not have
the slightest chance of success because he has not established any fault
attributable to an employee of the moving party of a sort that would give rise
to liability on her part.
[46]
The
plaintiff submits that he acted listening only to his common sense rather than
complying with the Act. He was wrong, and the defendant cannot be held liable
for the choices the plaintiff and Ms. Han made. All the decisions issued
by the defendant’s officers are reasoned and well founded, and the plaintiff
did not challenge their legality, every time he had the opportunity to do so.
[47]
For
all these reasons, I have no doubt that the success of the underlying
application is so
doubtful that it does not deserve consideration by the trier of fact at a
future trial. Therefore, the defendant’s motion for summary judgment is
granted, and the plaintiff’s action against the defendant is dismissed with
costs.
JUDGMENT
THE
COURT ORDERS AND ADJUDGES AS FOLLOWS:
1. The
defendant’s motion for summary judgment is granted;
2. The
plaintiff’s action against the defendant dated March 12, 2012, is
dismissed; and
3. Costs
are awarded to the defendant.
“Jocelyne Gagné”
Certified true translation
Mary Jo Egan, LLB
Annex
Sections 213 to 216 of the Federal Courts Rules,
SOR/98-106:
213. (1)
A party may bring a motion for summary judgment or summary trial on all or
some of the issues raised in the pleadings at any time after the defendant
has filed a defence but before the time and place for trial have been fixed.
(2) If
a party brings a motion for summary judgment or summary trial, the party may
not bring a further motion for either summary judgment or summary trial
except with leave of the Court.
(3) A
motion for summary judgment or summary trial in an action may be brought by
serving and filing a notice of motion and motion record at least 20 days
before the day set out in the notice for the hearing of the motion.
(4) A
party served with a motion for summary judgment or summary trial shall serve
and file a respondent's motion record not later than 10 days before the day
set out in the notice of motion for the hearing of the motion.
214. A
response to a motion for summary judgment shall not rely on what might be
adduced as evidence at a later stage in the proceedings. It must set out
specific facts and adduce the evidence showing that there is a genuine issue
for trial.
215. (1)
If on a motion for summary judgment the Court is satisfied that there is no
genuine issue for trial with respect to a claim or defence, the Court shall
grant summary judgment accordingly.
(2) If
the Court is satisfied that the only genuine issue is
(a)
the amount to which the moving party is entitled, the Court may order a trial
of that issue or grant summary judgment with a reference under rule 153 to
determine the amount; or
(b)
a question of law, the Court may determine the question and grant summary
judgment accordingly.
(3) If
the Court is satisfied that there is a genuine issue of fact or law for trial
with respect to a claim or a defence, the Court may
(a)
nevertheless determine that issue by way of summary trial and make any order
necessary for the conduct of the summary trial; or
(b)
dismiss the motion in whole or in part and order that the action, or the
issues in the action not disposed of by summary judgment, proceed to trial or
that the action be conducted as a specially managed proceeding.
216. (1)
The motion record for a summary trial shall contain all of the evidence on
which a party seeks to rely, including
(a) affidavits;
(b) admissions under rule 256;
(c) affidavits or statements of an expert witness prepared in accordance with
subsection 258(5); and
(d) any part of the evidence that would be admissible under rules 288 and
289.
(2) No
further affidavits or statements may be served, except
(a) in the case of the moving party, if their content is limited to evidence
that would be admissible at trial as rebuttal evidence and they are served
and filed at least 5 days before the day set out in the notice of motion for
the hearing of the summary trial; or
(b) with leave of the Court.
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213. (1)
Une partie peut présenter une requête en jugement sommaire ou en
procès sommaire à l’égard de toutes ou d’une partie des questions que
soulèvent les actes de procédure. Le cas échéant, elle la présente après le
dépôt de la défense du défendeur et avant que les heures, date et lieu de
l’instruction soient fixés.
(2) Si une partie présente l’une de ces requêtes en jugement sommaire ou
en procès sommaire, elle ne peut présenter de nouveau l'une ou l’autre de ces
requêtes à moins d’obtenir l'autorisation de la Cour.
(3) La requête
en jugement sommaire ou en procès sommaire dans une action est présentée
par signification et dépôt d'un avis de requête et d’un dossier de requête au
moins vingt jours avant la date de l’audition de la requête indiquée dans
l’avis.
(4) La
partie qui reçoit signification de la requête signifie et dépose un dossier
de réponse au moins dix jours avant la date de l’audition de la requête
indiquée dans l’avis de requête.
214. La réponse à une requête en jugement sommaire ne peut être fondée
sur un élément qui pourrait être produit ultérieurement en preuve dans
l’instance. Elle doit énoncer les faits précis et produire les éléments de
preuve démontrant l’existence d’une véritable question litigieuse.
215. (1)
Si, par suite d’une requête en jugement sommaire, la Cour est
convaincue qu’il n’existe pas de véritable question litigieuse quant à une
déclaration ou à une défense, elle rend un jugement sommaire en conséquence.
(2) Si
la Cour est convaincue que la seule véritable question litigieuse est:
a)
la somme à laquelle le requérant a droit, elle peut ordonner l’instruction de
cette question ou rendre un jugement sommaire assorti d’un renvoi pour
détermination de la somme conformément à la règle 153;
b) un point de droit, elle peut statuer sur celui-ci et rendre un jugement
sommaire en conséquence.
(3) Si
la Cour est convaincue qu’il existe une véritable question de fait ou de
droit litigieuse à l'égard d'une déclaration ou d'une défense, elle peut:
a)
néanmoins trancher cette question par voie de procès somaire et rendre toute
ordonnance nécesIADre pour le déroulement de ce procès;
b)
rejeter la requête en tout ou en partie et ordonner que l’action ou toute
question litigieuse non tranchée par jugement sommaire soit instruite ou que
l'action se poursuive à titre d'instance à gestion spéciale.
216. (1)
Le dossier de requête en procès sommaire contient la totalité des éléments de
preuve sur lesquels une partie compte se fonder, notamment:
a) les
affidavits;
b) les aveux visés à la règle 256;
c) les affidavits et les déclarations des témoins experts établis
conformément at paragraphe 258(5);
d) les éléments de preuve admissibles en vertu des règles 288 et 289.
(2) Des affidavits ou déclarations supplémentaires ne peuvent être
signifiés que si, selon le cas:
a)
s’agissant du requérant, ces affidavits ou déclarations seraient admissibles
en contre-preuve à l’instruction et leurs signification et dépôt sont faits
au moins cinq jours avant la date de l’audition de la requête indiquée dans
l'avis de requête;
b) la Cour l’autorise.
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