Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure respecting the Employment Insurance Act (SOR/90-690)

Whereas, pursuant to subsection 22(3)Footnote ^* of the Tax Court of Canada Act, the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada published a notice of the proposed revocation of the Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure (Unemployment Insurance Act, 1971)Footnote ^**, except in respect of any appeals or proceedings instituted before January 1, 1991, and a copy of the proposed Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure respecting the Unemployment Insurance Act, substantially in the form annexed hereto, in the Canada Gazette Part I on April 21, 1990, and invited any interested person to make representations to the rules committee with respect thereto;

• Return to footnote ^*R.S., c. 51 (4th Supp.), s. 7

• Return to footnote ^**SOR/83-729, 1983 Canada Gazette Part II, p. 3468

Therefore, the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada, pursuant to section 20Footnote ^*** of the Tax Court of Canada Act and subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, hereby

• Return to footnote ^***R.S., c. 51 (4th Supp.), s. 6

• (a) revokes, effective January 1, 1991, the Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure (Unemployment Insurance Act, 1971), approved by Order in Council P.C. 1983-3011 of September 29, 1983Footnote ^**, except in respect of any appeals or proceedings instituted before January 1, 1991; and

• (b) makes, effective January 1, 1991, the annexed Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure respecting the Unemployment Insurance Act, in substitution therefor.

Dated this 7th day of September 1990

J.-C. Couture, Chief Judge	D. H. Christie, Associate Chief Judge
M. J. Bonner	A. Garon
Helen C. Turner	Maurice Regnier, Q.C.

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Justice, pursuant to subsection 20(1)Footnote ^* of the Tax Court of Canada Act, is pleased hereby to approve

• (a) the revocation, by the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada, effective January 1, 1991, of the Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedures (Unemployment Insurance Act, 1971), approved by Order in Council P.C. 1983-3011 of September 29, 1983Footnote ^**, except in respect of any appeals or proceedings instituted before January 1, 1991; and

• (b) the making, by the rules committee of the Tax Court of Canada, effective January 1, 1991, of the annexed Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure respecting the Unemployment Insurance Act, in substitution therefor.

  • Return to footnote ^*R.S., c. 51 (4th Supp.), s. 6

  • Return to footnote ^**SOR/83-729, 1983 Canada Gazette Part II, p. 3468

Short Title

1 These rules may be cited as the Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure respecting the Employment Insurance Act.

Interpretation

2 In these Rules,

Act

Act means the Employment Insurance Act; (Loi)

appellant

appellant means the Commission or a person affected by a decision on an appeal to the Minister who appeals under subsection 103(1) of the Act; (appelant)

Commission

Commission means the Canada Employment Insurance Commission; (Commission)

electronic filing

electronic filing means the act of filing, by electronic means, through the Court’s website (www.tcc-cci.gc.ca) or any other website referred to in a direction issued by the Court, any document listed on those sites; (dépôt électronique)

fax

fax means to transmit a facsimile of printed matter electronically or a document so transmitted; (télécopie)

intervener

intervener means a person who is affected by a decision on an appeal to the Minister under section 91 or 92 of the Act and who has intervened in an appeal; (intervenant)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of National Revenue; (ministre)

Registrar

Registrar means the person appointed as Registrar of the Court by the Chief Administrator of the Courts Administration Service in consultation with the Chief Justice; (greffier)

Registry

Registry means the Registry established by the Chief Administrator of the Courts Administration Service at the principal office of the Court at 200 Kent Street, 2nd Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0M1 (telephone: (613) 992-0901 or 1-800-927-5499; fax: (613) 957-9034; website: www.tcc-cci.gc.ca) or at any other local office of the Court specified in notices published by the Court. (greffe)

3 These Rules shall be liberally construed to secure the just, least expensive and most expeditious determination of every appeal on its merits.

Application

4 These rules apply to appeals brought under subsection 103(1) of the Act.

Associate Judges

• 4.1 (1) An associate judge of the Court has all the powers of a judge of the Court under these Rules.

• (2) Any associate judge may sit and act at any time and at any place in Canada for the transaction of the business of the Court, and, where the associate judge so sits or acts, that associate judge constitutes the Court.

Filing a Notice of Appeal

• 5 (1) An appeal by an appellant from a decision on an appeal to the Minister shall be instituted within the time period set out in subsection 103(1) of the Act, which is 90 days after the decision is communicated to the appellant, or within such longer time as the Court may allow on application made to it within 90 days after the expiration of those 90 days.

• (2) Where a decision referred to in subsection (1) is communicated by mail, the date of communication is the date it is mailed and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the date of mailing is the date specified on the decision.

• (3) An appeal referred to in subsection (1) shall be made in writing and set out, in general terms, the reasons for the appeal and the relevant facts, but no special form of pleadings is required.

• (4) An appeal referred to in subsection (1) shall be instituted by filing a notice of appeal, which may be in the form set out in Schedule 5, using one of the following methods:

  • (a) depositing the notice in the Registry;

  • (b) sending it by mail to the Registry; or

  • (c) sending it by fax or by electronic filing to the Registry.

• (5) to (8) [Repealed, SOR/2008-304, s. 3]

Filing of other Documents

5.1 Except as otherwise provided in these rules and unless otherwise directed by the Court, a document other than a notice of appeal may be filed using one of the following methods:

• (a) depositing it with the Registry;

• (b) sending it by mail to the Registry; or

• (c) sending it by fax or by electronic filing to the Registry.

Filing Date

5.2 Except as otherwise provided in these rules and unless otherwise directed by the Court, the date of filing of a document is deemed to be

• (a) in the case of a document filed with the Registry or sent by mail or by fax, the date shown by the date received stamp placed on the document by the Registry at the time it is received; or

• (b) in the case of a document filed by electronic filing, the date shown on the acknowledgment of receipt issued by the Court.

Electronic Filing

• 5.3 (1) Except as otherwise provided in these rules and unless otherwise directed by the Court, when a document is filed by electronic filing, the copy of the document that is printed by the Registry and placed in the Court file is deemed to be the original version of the document.

• (2) A party who files a document by electronic filing shall, if required by these rules or at the request of a party or the Court, provide a paper copy of the document and file it with the Registry.

• (3) If the Registry has no record of the receipt of a document, it is deemed not to have been filed, unless the Court directs otherwise.

Extension of Time

• 6 (1) An application for an order extending the time within which an appeal may be instituted may be in the form set out in Schedule 6.

• (2) The application under subsection (1) shall be made by filing with the Registrar, in the manner provided in section 5.1, three copies of the application accompanied by three copies of the notice of appeal.

• (3) No application shall be granted under this section to an applicant unless

  • (a) the application is made within 90 days after the expiration of 90 days after the day on which the Minister communicated his or her decision to the applicant; and

  • (b) the applicant demonstrates that

    • (i) within the initial 90-day period specified in paragraph (a), the applicant

      • (A) was unable to act or to instruct another to act in the applicant’s name, or

      • (B) had a good faith intention to appeal,

    • (ii) given the reasons set out in the application and the circumstances of the case, it would be just and equitable to grant the application,

    • (iii) the application was made as soon as circumstances permitted it to be made, and

    • (iv) there are reasonable grounds for appealing the decision.

• (4) After having given the Minister an opportunity to make representations, the Court shall dispose of the application on the basis of the representations contained in it and any additional information, if any, that the Court may require.

• (5) The Registrar, on being informed of the decision of the Court in respect of the application, shall inform the applicant and the Minister of the decision.

• (6) The application pursuant to subsection (1) is deemed to have been filed on the date of its receipt by the Registry, even if the application is not accompanied by the notice of appeal referred to in subsection (2), provided that the notice of appeal is filed within 30 days after that date or within any reasonable time that the Court establishes.

Preparation for Appeal

• 7 (1) The Registrar shall serve the Minister with a copy of the notice of appeal referred to in section 5 and notice of the Registry in which it was filed or to which it was mailed.

• (2) The material referred to in subsection (1) may be served personally, and personal service on the Commissioner of Revenue is deemed to be personal service on the Minister, or by mail addressed to the Minister, and if served by mail, the date of service is the date it is mailed and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the date of mailing is that date appearing on the communication from the Registrar accompanying the material.

• 8 (1) The Minister, on receipt of a copy of the notice of appeal referred to in section 7, shall

  • (a) serve a copy of the notice of appeal and notice of the Registry in which it was filed or to which it was mailed on every person to whom a notification was sent under subsection 93(3) of the Act in respect of the decision that is the subject of the appeal, and

  • (b) serve notice at the Registry in which the notice of appeal was filed or to which it was mailed of the name and address of every person who was served with the material referred to in paragraph (a), and serve at that Registry a copy of

    • (i) the request made under subsection 90(1) of the Act to the authorized officer of the Canada Revenue Agency to make a ruling, or

    • (ii) the assessment made by the Minister under section 85 of the Act, and a copy of the appeal in respect of that assessment made to the Minister under section 92 of the Act,

    and a copy of the notification sent by the Minister under subsection 93(3) of the Act.

• (2) The material referred to

  • (a) in paragraph (1)(a) may be served personally or by mail, and

  • (b) in paragraph (1)(b) may be served by filing it at the Registry or by mail

  and, if served by mail, the date of service is the date it is mailed and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the date of mailing is that date appearing on the communication from the Minister accompanying the material.

Intervention

• 9 (1) A person affected by a decision of the Minister may intervene as a party in an appeal by filing with the Registry a notice of intervention that may be in the form set out in Schedule 9.

• (2) The notice of intervention shall be filed within 45 days after the day on which the notice of appeal was served on the intervener under section 8.

• (3) An intervener may state in the notice of intervention that the intervener intends to rely on the reasons set out in the notice of appeal received by the intervener or the reasons set out in the notice of intervention of another intervener.

• (4) The Registrar shall serve the Minister and the appellant with a copy of any notice of intervention received by the Registrar.

• (5) The notice of intervention may be served personally, and personal service on the Commissioner of Revenue is deemed to be personal service on the Minister, or by mail addressed to the Minister, and if served by mail, the date of service is the date it is mailed and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the date of mailing is that date appearing on the communication from the Registrar accompanying the notice of intervention.

Consolidation of Appeals

• 10 (1) Where there are two or more appeals commenced in accordance with these rules, the Court may, upon application by the Minister or an appellant or by an intervener, direct that the appeals be

  • (a) consolidated on such terms as it may direct,

  • (b) heard at the same time,

  • (c) heard consecutively, or

  • (d) stayed until the determination of any other appeal,

  if there is a common question of law or fact in both or all of the appeals, or it is desirable in the interests of justice.

• (2) An application referred to in subsection (1) shall be filed in or mailed to the Registry in which the notices of appeal were filed or to which they were mailed and shall be served on the other parties to the appeals.

Consolidation of Interventions

11 Where there are two or more notices of intervention served under these rules, the Court may direct that one notice of intervention be filed and served on behalf of all interveners if

• (a) there is a common question of law or fact in both or all notices of intervention, or

• (b) it is desirable in the interests of justice.

Reply

• 12 (1) The Minister shall reply in writing to every notice of appeal or notice of intervention filed in or mailed to a Registry under subsection 5(4) or 9(1).

• (2) (a) The Minister shall file the reply at the Registry and serve it on the appellant or intervener, or both, as the case may be, within 60 days from the day on which the notice of appeal or notice of intervention was served on the Minister, or within such longer time as the Court, on application made to it within those 60 days, may allow.

  • (b) The reply shall be filed in the Registry in which the notice of appeal or notice of intervention was filed or to which it was mailed, and it may be served on the appellant or intervener personally or by mail.

  • (b.1) A reply may be filed under paragraph (b) by mailing it to the appropriate Registry described in that paragraph.

  • (c) If the reply is served by mail the date of service is the date it is mailed and, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the date of mailing is that date appearing on the communication from the Minister accompanying the reply.

• (3) The reply referred to in subsection (1) shall

  • (a) admit or deny the facts alleged in the notice of appeal or notice of intervention, and

  • (b) contain a statement of any further allegations of fact on which the Minister intends to rely.

• (4) An application for an extension of time under paragraph (2)(a) shall be made by serving at the Registry an application setting out

  • (a) the date on which the notice of appeal or notice of intervention was served on the Minister,

  • (b) the additional time required, and

  • (c) the reasons therefor.

• (5) The application to extend time may be served by filing it in the Registry in which the notice of appeal or notice of intervention was filed or to which it was mailed, or by sending a letter, telegram, telex or fax to that Registry.

• (6) If the application to extend time is served by telegram, telex or fax, the date of service is the date that the telegram, telex or fax is transmitted and, if the application is served by mail, the date of service is the date stamped on the envelope at the post office and, if there is more than one such date, the date of service shall be deemed to be the earliest date.

• (7) The Court shall dispose of the application on the basis of the representations contained in it and such additional information, if any, as the Court may require and after having given the appellant or intervener an opportunity to make representations.

• (8) The Registrar, on being informed of the decision of the Court in respect of the application, shall inform the Minister and the appellant or intervener.