Case information

Charter of Rights — Right to equality — Civil procedure — Appeals — Case management judge ordering applicant to pay security for costs for her appeal and to pay respondents’ costs — Applicant failing to pay either award and her action was dismissed — Whether it was a breach of natural justice to order a party to reply to a motion, from which she had only received 1/5th part, and after she could not respond to it, to grant the reliefs of the motion — Whether lower courts failed to consider that applicant had proven impecuniosity and could not pay the security for costs until the requested deadline — Whether there was a breach of procedural fairness when neither the impecuniosity nor the merits of the appeal and claim were considered — Whether changes in circumstances and compelling reasons for fairness were not considered when the deadline for payment of security for costs was not adjourned — Whether the Federal Court of Appeal had wrong facts before them.

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Since coming to Canada from Germany, Ms. Sir had dealings with the Canadian Border Services Agency “CBSA”), and RCMP officers. She brought an action against two CBSA managers, three CBSA Enforcement Officers, two RCMP officers, the Crown and the Attorney General of Canada. The respondents obtained an order requiring Ms. Sir to post security for costs on the basis that she was not ordinarily resident in Canada. This order prohibited Ms. Sir from taking any further steps in her action until she paid $8,900 as security for costs and $1,200 in costs to the respondents. Ms. Sir did not pay the costs awards by the deadline date imposed by the case management judge and her action was subsequently dismissed. The Federal Court dismissed her motions and appeals after her action was dismissed. Her subsequent motions and appeals were all dismissed by the Federal Court of Appeal.