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

PART 10Motions — General Rules

Motion to a Judge or the Registrar

General

• 47 (1) Unless otherwise provided in these Rules, all motions shall be made before a judge or the Registrar and consist of the following documents, in the following order:

  • (a) a notice of motion in accordance with Form 47;

  • (b) any affidavit necessary to substantiate any fact that is not a matter of record in the Court;

  • (c) if considered necessary by the applicant, a memorandum of argument in accordance with paragraph 25(1)(c), with any modifications that the circumstances require; and

  • (d) if, in support of the motion, 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  • (e) [Repealed, SOR/2024-73, s. 8]

• (1.1) [Repealed, SOR/2013-175, s. 30]

• (2) Parts I to V of the memorandum of argument shall not exceed 10 pages.

• (3) There shall be no oral argument on the motion unless a judge or the Registrar otherwise orders or directs.

Service and Filing

• 48 (1) An applicant shall

  • (a) serve on all parties to the motion a copy of the electronic version of the motion;

  • (b) serve on all other parties a copy of the electronic version of the notice of motion; and

  • (c) file with the Registrar

    • (i) a copy of the electronic version of the motion, and

    • (ii) the original and a copy of the printed version of the motion.

• (2) Despite subrule (1), a motion related to an application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal may be served and filed with the application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal in accordance with Rule 26 or 29, as the case may be.

Response to Motion

• 49 (1) Within 10 days after service of the motion, a respondent to the motion may respond to the motion by

  • (a) serving on all moving parties and other respondents to the motion a copy of the electronic version of the response; and

  • (b) filing with the Registrar

    • (i) a copy of the electronic version of the response, and

    • (ii) the original and a copy of the printed version of the response.

• (1.1) In the case of a motion for intervention served and filed in accordance with Rule 55, the response shall be served and filed within 10 days after the day on which the last motion to which the response relates was served.

• (2) Unless it is served and filed in the form of correspondence of no longer than two pages, the response shall consist of the following, in the following order:

  • (a) a memorandum of argument in accordance with paragraph 25(1)(c), with any modifications that the circumstances require; and

  • (b) if, in support of the response, the respondent 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.

• (3) Parts I to V of the memorandum of argument shall not exceed 10 pages.

• (4) Despite subrule (1), in the case of a motion served and filed with or related to an application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal, with the exception of a motion to expedite, the response to the motion may be served and filed with the response to the application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal in accordance with Rule 27 or 30, as the case may be.

Reply

• 50 (1) Within five days after service of the response to the motion, an applicant may reply by

  • (a) serving on all parties to the motion a copy of the electronic version of the reply; and

  • (b) filing with the Registrar

    • (i) a copy of the electronic version of the reply, and

    • (ii) the original and a copy of the printed version of the reply.

• (1.1) In the case of a response to a motion for intervention served and filed in accordance with Rule 55, the reply shall be served and filed within five days after the day on which the last response to which the reply relates was served.

• (2) Unless it is served and filed in the form of correspondence of no longer than two pages, the reply shall consist of a memorandum of argument not exceeding five pages.

• (3) Despite subrule (1), in the case of a motion served and filed with an application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal, the reply may be served and filed with the reply to the response to the application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal in accordance with Rule 28 or 31, as the case may be.

Submission to a Judge or the Registrar

• 51 (1) The motion shall be submitted to a judge or the Registrar

  • (a) after the reply is filed or at the end of the five-day period referred to in Rule 50, as the case may be; or

  • (b) if no response to the motion is filed, at the end of the 10-day period referred to in Rule 49.

• (2) The judge or the Registrar may

  • (a) decide the motion;

  • (b) order an oral hearing of the motion;

  • (c) refer the motion for decision to the Court; or

  • (d) in the case of a motion related to an application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal, refer the motion to the judges to whom the application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal has been submitted.

• (3) Despite subrule (1), a motion related to an application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal may be submitted for decision directly to the judges to whom the application for leave to appeal or leave to cross-appeal is submitted.

Motion Before the Court

General

• 52 (1) When the Act or these Rules require that a motion be heard by the Court, the motion shall be bound and consist of the following, in the following order:

  • (a) a notice of motion in Form 52;

  • (b) any affidavit necessary to substantiate any fact that is not a matter of record in the Court;

  • (c) a memorandum of argument in accordance with paragraph 25(1)(c), with any modifications that the circumstances require; and

  • (d) if, in support of the motion, 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.

• (1.1) [Repealed, SOR/2013-175, s. 35]

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

Service and Filing

53 An applicant shall

• (a) serve the motion on all parties to the motion and a copy of the notice of motion on all other parties; and

• (b) file with the Registrar the original and 14 copies of the motion.

Response

• 54 (1) Within 10 days after service of the motion, a respondent to the motion may respond to the motion by

  • (a) serving a response on all moving parties and other respondents to the motion; and

  • (b) filing with the Registrar the original and 14 copies of the response.

• (2) Unless it is served and filed in the form of correspondence of no longer than two pages, the response shall be bound and consist of the following, in the following order:

  • (a) a memorandum of argument in accordance with paragraph 25(1)(c), with any modifications that the circumstances require; and

  • (b) if, in support of the response, the respondent 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.

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

• (4) After the response to the motion is filed or at the end of the 10-day period referred to in subrule (1), the Registrar shall send a notice of hearing of the motion in Form 69, with any modifications that the circumstances require, to all parties.

PART 11Particular Motions

Motion for Intervention

55 Any person interested in an application for leave to appeal, an appeal or a reference may make a motion for intervention to a judge.

56 A motion for intervention shall be made

• (a) in the case of an application for leave to appeal, within 30 days after the day on which the application for leave to appeal is filed or within 30 days after the day on which the file is opened;

• (b) in the case of an appeal, within four weeks after the filing of the appellant’s factum; and

• (c) in the case of a reference, within four weeks after the filing of the Governor in Council’s factum.

• 57 (1) The affidavit in support of a motion for intervention shall identify the person interested in the proceeding and describe that person’s interest in the proceeding, including any prejudice that the person interested in the proceeding would suffer if the intervention were denied.

• (2) A motion for intervention shall

  • (a) identify the position the person interested in the proceeding intends to take with respect to the questions on which they propose to intervene; and

  • (b) set out the submissions to be advanced by the person interested in the proceeding with respect to the questions on which they propose to intervene, their relevance to the proceeding and the reasons for believing that the submissions will be useful to the Court and different from those of the other parties.

58 At the end of the applicable time referred to in Rule 51, the Registrar shall submit to a judge all motions for intervention that have been made within the time required by Rule 56.

• 59 (1) In an order granting an intervention, the judge may

  • (a) make provisions as to additional disbursements incurred by the appellant or respondent as a result of the intervention; and

  • (b) impose any terms and conditions and grant any rights and privileges that the judge may determine, including whether the intervener is entitled to adduce further evidence or otherwise to supplement the record.

• (2) In an order granting an intervention or after the time for serving and filing all of the memoranda of argument on an application for leave to appeal or the facta on an appeal or reference has expired, a judge may authorize the intervener to present oral argument at the hearing of the application for leave to appeal, if any, the appeal or the reference, and determine the time to be allotted for oral argument.

• (3) An intervener is not permitted to raise new issues unless otherwise ordered by a judge.

60 [Repealed, SOR/2016-271, s. 35]

61 [Repealed, SOR/2016-271, s. 35]

Motion to Stay

62 Any party against whom a judgment has been given, or an order made, by the Court or any other court, may make a motion to the Court for a stay of execution or other relief against such judgment or order, and the Court may give such relief on the terms that may be appropriate.

Motion to Quash

• 63 (1) Within 30 days after the filing of a proceeding referred to in section 44 of the Act, a respondent may make a motion to the Court to quash the proceeding.

• (2) Upon service of the motion to quash, the proceeding shall be stayed until the motion has been disposed of unless the Court or a judge otherwise orders.

• (3) If the proceeding is quashed, the party bringing the proceeding may, in the discretion of the Court, be ordered to pay the whole or any part of the costs of the proceeding.

Assignment of Counsel by the Court to Act on Behalf of Accused

• 63.1 (1) For the purposes of section 694.1 of the Criminal Code, the accused who is the appellant, applicant or respondent in a proceeding shall, if the Crown consents, file with the Registrar a letter containing the following information:

  • (a) an explanation of why legal assistance is necessary;

  • (b) a statement that the accused has not sufficient means to obtain legal assistance;

  • (c) a confirmation of the refusal by a provincial legal aid program to grant legal aid to the accused; and

  • (d) the name of the lawyer willing to act on behalf of the accused.

• (2) The consent of the Attorney General who is the appellant, applicant or respondent in the proceeding shall be filed with the letter referred to in subsection (1).

PART 12Dismissals and Vexatious Proceedings

Dismissal for Delay — Application for Leave to Appeal

• 64 (1) If, after the filing of a notice of application for leave to appeal, an applicant has not served and filed all the documents required under Rule 25 within the time set out in paragraph 58(1)(a) of the Act or the time extended under subsection 59(1) of the Act,

  • (a) a respondent may make a motion to the Registrar for dismissal of the application for leave to appeal as abandoned; or

  • (b) the Registrar may send a notice of intention in Form 64 to the applicant and copies of it to all other parties.

• (2) The Registrar may dismiss the application for leave to appeal as abandoned if the time for serving and filing the materials is not extended by a judge on motion.

• (3) The motion for an extension of time referred to in subrule (2) must be served and filed within 20 days after the service of the respondent’s motion for dismissal or the receipt of the Registrar’s notice of intention, as the case may be.