Rules of the Supreme Court of Canada (SOR/2002-156)

Filing of Documents

• 19 (1) Subject to subrule (1.1), a document — including a document that these Rules require to be bound — may be filed with the Registrar

  • (a) through the electronic filing portal;

  • (b) by fax transmission or email;

  • (c) by hand delivery; or

  • (d) by mail or courier.

• (1.1) The documents referred to in subrules 19.1(1) and (2) must be filed with the Registrar by hand delivery, mail or courier.

• (2) On receipt of a document, the Registrar may

  • (a) accept or reject the document for filing; or

  • (b) accept the document for filing subject to the making of any corrections or the fulfilling of any conditions precedent.

• (2.1) to (2.3) [Repealed, SOR/2011-74, s. 7]

• (3) A document that is filed by hand delivery, mail or courier is deemed to have been filed on the date of the Court’s filing stamp on that document, unless the Court, a judge or the Registrar otherwise orders.

• (3.1) A document that is filed through the electronic filing portal, by fax transmission or by email is deemed to have been filed on the day on which it is received, unless that day is a holiday, in which case the document is deemed to have been filed on the following day that is not a holiday.

• (3.2) In the case of a document that is filed through the electronic filing portal, by fax transmission or by email, the time of its receipt by the Registrar is that time in the Eastern time zone.

• (4) A document that is filed by fax transmission or email must include a cover page that meets the requirements of subrule 20(3) or the information referred to in paragraphs 20(3.1)(a), (b), (d) and (e), as the case may be.

• (5) Within five business days after the day on which a document, other than correspondence referred to in subrule (7), is filed through the electronic filing portal, by fax transmission or by email, the original and the required copies of the document must be bound, if applicable, and must be filed by hand delivery, mail or courier.

• (6) All documents filed, other than correspondence referred to in subrule (7), shall be served in accordance with Rule 20 on all parties unless these Rules provide otherwise or the Court, a judge or the Registrar otherwise orders.

• (7) A copy of any correspondence between parties, or between a party and the Registrar, that has been filed shall be sent to all other parties by hand delivery, mail or courier to the last known address or, if the address for service of the recipient party includes a fax number or an email address, by fax transmission to the last known fax number or by email to the last known email address.

Filing of Sealed and Confidential Documents

• 19.1 (1) If it is filed, any document that is subject to a sealing or confidentiality order from a lower court or the Court or that is classified as confidential by legislation shall be sealed in an envelope and be accompanied by a covering letter and a copy of the sealing or confidentiality order or provision of the applicable legislation.

• (2) Subject to subrule (3), if any of the following documents is filed, it shall be sealed in an envelope and accompanied by one redacted electronic version, if one is required under these Rules, and two redacted printed versions:

  • (a) a document containing a document that is subject to a sealing or confidentiality order from a lower court or the Court or that is classified as confidential by legislation;

  • (b) a document that reveals information that is subject to a sealing or confidentiality order from a lower court or the Court or that is classified as confidential by legislation; or

  • (c) a document that a party requires to be sealed.

• (3) If a redacted version of a document referred to in paragraph (2)(b) cannot be filed, the document shall be accompanied by a motion to seal to the Registrar.

• (4) A document referred to in paragraph (2)(c) shall be accompanied by a motion to seal to the Registrar.

Service of Documents

• 20 (1) Service of any document on a party shall be made on the party’s counsel or agent at that person’s last known address, last known fax number or last known email address or, if the party is not represented by counsel, on the party or the party’s agent, by

  • (a) personal service made on any day other than a holiday;

  • (b) ordinary mail, except for originating documents or documents filed in support;

  • (c) registered or certified mail or by courier;

  • (d) fax transmission, except for

    • (i) originating documents or documents filed in support, and

    • (ii) documents that are longer than 40 pages unless the party being served consents to service by fax transmission;

  • (d.1) email; or

  • (e) leaving a copy with a party’s counsel or agent or with an employee in the office of the counsel or agent.

• (2) A party served with an electronic version of a document that is required to be bound may also request a printed version that shall be sent no later than one week after receipt of the request.

• (3) Every document served by fax transmission shall include a cover page that shows

  • (a) the title of the document being transmitted;

  • (b) the sender’s name, address and telephone number;

  • (c) the name of the party being served and of the party’s counsel, if any;

  • (d) the date and approximate time of the transmission;

  • (e) the number of pages transmitted, including the cover page;

  • (f) the fax number of the transmitting fax machine; and

  • (g) the name and telephone number of the person to contact if there are transmission problems.

• (3.1) If a document is served by email, the email shall contain

  • (a) the title of the document being transmitted;

  • (b) the sender’s name, address and telephone number;

  • (c) the name of the party being served and of the party’s counsel, if any;

  • (d) the date and approximate time of the transmission; and

  • (e) an indication of the number of attachments to the email or an indication of where the party being served can access the document electronically.

• (4) Subject to subrule (5), a document is deemed to have been served on the day on which it is received or is admitted to have been received, unless it is received between 5:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. local time or on a day that is a holiday, in which case it is deemed to have been served on the following day that is not a holiday.

• (5) A document served by ordinary mail is deemed to have been served on the fifth business day after the document is mailed.

• (6) When an attempt by an authorized person to serve a document in accordance with the rules of procedure applicable in the province or territory in which the document is served has failed and was recorded in that person’s certificate of service, he or she may serve the document by leaving on the premises a copy of the document intended for the addressee.

• (7) Proof of service of the printed version or the electronic version is sufficient.

• (8) Proof of service shall be verified by filing, in accordance with Rule 19, one of the following documents within two days after service, unless a judge or the Registrar otherwise orders:

  • (a) if service is made by ordinary mail, an affidavit of service in Form 20;

  • (b) if service is made by registered or certified mail or by courier, an affidavit of service in Form 20 annexing a post office receipt, a receipt card bearing the signature of the person served or a copy of the tracking results of the courier service that indicates the status of the delivery of the document;

  • (c) if service is made by fax transmission, an affidavit of service in Form 20 annexing a copy of the cover page referred to in subrule (3) and a transmission slip that confirms the date and time of transmission;

  • (d) if service is made by email, an affidavit of service in Form 20 annexing a copy of the email referred to in subrule (3.1) and a copy of the read receipt, the delivery receipt or the confirmation by the party served that the service was effected electronically;

  • (e) a certificate of service by any authorized person in accordance with the rules of procedure applicable in the province or territory in which the document is served; or

  • (f) an admission of service endorsed by the party or their counsel or agent.

• (9) If service is made by registered or certified mail, courier, fax transmission or email, an affidavit of service in Form 20 is not required for documents that are not originating documents, provided that the information that is required to be annexed under paragraph (8)(b), (c) or (d), as the case may be, is filed.

• (10) The Registrar may, on filing of an affidavit by the serving party, make any order for substitutional service that the circumstances require.

Guidelines for Preparing Documents

• 21 (1) Every document before the Court shall be prepared in accordance with the Guidelines for Preparing Documents to be Filed with the Supreme Court of Canada (Print and Electronic), as amended from time to time.

• (2) [Repealed, SOR/2016-271, s. 11]

Style of Cause

• 22 (1) [Repealed, SOR/2011-74, s. 9]

• (2) The style of cause in an application for leave to appeal shall name, followed by their status in the court appealed from,

  • (a) as an applicant, each party bringing the application for leave to appeal;

  • (b) as a respondent, each party against whom the applicant brings the application for leave to appeal — including, in Quebec, a mis-en-cause — and who was adverse in interest to the applicant in the court appealed from; and

  • (c) as an intervener,

    • (i) any intervener who was given full party status in the court appealed from and, in Quebec, any mis-en-cause in the court appealed from who is not already named in the style of cause,

    • (ii) each person who has been granted leave to intervene in accordance with Rule 59, and

    • (iii) each administrative board or tribunal whose jurisdiction is at issue, whether or not the board or tribunal was active in the proceedings in the court appealed from.

• (3) The style of cause in an appeal shall name, followed by their status in the court appealed from,

  • (a) as an appellant, each party bringing the appeal;

  • (b) as a respondent, each party against whom the appellant brings the appeals — including, in Quebec, a mis-en-cause — and who was adverse in interest to the appellant in the court appealed from; and

  • (c) as an intervener,

    • (i) any intervener who was given full party status in the court appealed from and, in Quebec, any mis-en-cause in the court appealed from who is not already named in the style of cause,

    • (ii) each person who has been granted leave to intervene in accordance with Rule 59,

    • (iii) each attorney general who has filed a notice of intervention in accordance with subrule 33(4), and

    • (iv) each administrative board or tribunal whose jurisdiction is at issue, whether or not the board or tribunal was active in the proceedings in the court appealed from.

• (3.1) The style of cause in a motion shall follow the style of cause for the application for leave to appeal or the appeal, as the case may be, and may be abbreviated to name only the first applicant and respondent, or the first appellant and respondent, as the case may be.

• (4) A motion may be brought under Rule 18 to include in the style of cause as a party any other person who was a party, mis-en-cause or an intervener in the court appealed from and who must be a party to the proceedings to give effect to a judgment of the Court.

Certificates of Counsel

• 23 (1) In the case of an application for leave to appeal or an originating motion, counsel for the applicant and the respondent and, in the case of an appeal referred to in paragraph 33(1)(b) or (c), counsel for the appellant and the respondent shall file a certificate in Form 23A certifying whether there is

  • (a) a sealing or confidentiality order from a lower court or the Court in effect in the file;

  • (b) a ban on the publication of evidence or the names or identity of a party or witness under an order in effect in the file or under legislation;

  • (c) information in the file that is classified as confidential under legislation; or

  • (d) a restriction on public access to information in the file in a lower court.

• (2) If counsel for the applicant or the respondent certifies that any of the situations set out in paragraphs (1)(a) to (d) exist, the certificate shall be accompanied by, as the case may be, a copy of any applicable order or, if the order was pronounced orally at a hearing, a copy of the relevant excerpt from the transcript of the hearing, a citation of any applicable legislative provision or an explanation of the restriction.

• (3) If there is any order, applicable legislation or restriction referred to in subrule (1), counsel shall file a certificate in Form 23B certifying whether any documents filed by the counsel contain information that is subject to the order, legislation or restriction in the lower court and identifying the relevant documents and information.

• (4) If a judge’s previous involvement or connection with the case may result in it being inappropriate for that judge to take part in the adjudication on the proceedings in the Court, counsel shall file a certificate in Form 23C setting out the issues.

• (5) The certificates and documents referred to in subrules (1), (2) and (4) shall be filed at the same time as the application for leave to appeal or the response to that application, the originating motion or the response to that motion or, in the case of an appeal referred to in paragraph 33(1)(b) or (c), the notice of appeal or respondent’s factum.

• (6) Counsel shall immediately file a revision of the certificate referred to in subrule (1) in the event of any change in respect of the matters referred to in that subrule.

24 In the case of an appeal, counsel for the appellant and respondent shall file a certificate in Form 24A or 24B at the same time as the record referred to in Rule 38 or 39.

PART 5Leave to Appeal

Application for Leave to Appeal

• 25 (1) An application for leave to appeal must be bound and consist of the following:

  • (a) a notice of application for leave to appeal in Form 25, citing the legislative provision that authorizes the application for leave to appeal and including as a schedule to the notice of application for leave to appeal, beginning with the court of first instance or the administrative tribunal, as the case may be, and ending with the court appealed from,

    • (i) the reasons for judgment, if any,

    • (ii) the formal judgments or orders, as signed and entered, and

    • (iii) if the formal judgments or orders have not been signed and entered, all draft orders, the final versions of which must be filed separately immediately after they are signed and entered;

  • (b) [Repealed, SOR/2020-281, s. 2]

  • (c) a memorandum of argument divided as follows:

    • (i) Part I, a concise overview of the applicant’s position with respect to issues of public importance that are raised in the application for leave to appeal and a concise statement of facts,

    • (ii) Part II, a concise statement of the questions in issue and, if the proposed appeal raises an issue in respect of the constitutional validity or applicability of a statute, regulation or common law rule or the inoperability of a statute or regulation, a concise statement of the issue,

    • (iii) Part III, a concise statement of argument,

    • (iv) Part IV, submissions, if any, not exceeding one page in support of the order sought concerning costs,

    • (v) Part V, the order or orders sought, including the order or orders sought concerning costs,

    • (vi) Part VI, a table of authorities — including the relevant provisions of any statute, regulation, rule, ordinance or by-law being relied on, in both official languages if the provisions are required by law to be published in both official languages — that is arranged alphabetically, includes, if available, hyperlinks to all authorities and sets out the paragraph numbers where the authorities are cited in the memorandum of argument, and

    • (vii) Part VII, a photocopy, or a printout from an electronic database, of those provisions of any statute, regulation, rule, ordinance or by-law being relied on for which hyperlinks are not provided in Part VI, in both official languages if they are required by law to be published in both official languages; and

  • (c.1) [Repealed, SOR/2013-175, s. 16]

  • (d) if, in support of the application for leave to appeal, the applicant intends to rely on transcripts or evidence from the record filed with the court appealed from, the relevant excerpts of the transcripts or evidence, including exhibits.

  • (e) to (g) [Repealed, SOR/2013-175, s. 16]

• (2) Parts I to V of the memorandum of argument must not exceed 20 pages.

• (3) [Repealed, SOR/2020-281, s. 2]

• (4) [Repealed, SOR/2020-281, s. 2]

• (5) [Repealed, SOR/2013-175, s. 16]