Case information

Contract – Landlord and tenant lease – Whether paying filing fees would constitute an undue hardship – Applicant’s application for a fee waiver dismissed due to failure to comply with financial disclosure – Whether the applicant’s rights pursuant to the Canadian Bill of Rights were violated – Whether the applicant’s rights pursuant to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms were violated – Whether the lower courts erred – Whether there are any issues of public importance raised – Residential Tenancies Act, 2018.

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.

This application for leave to appeal arises out of an application under the Residential Tenancies Act, 2018 (“the Act”) seeking relief under the Act from the Director of Residential Tenancies in relation to a dispute between the applicant and a private landlord. The applicant sought waiver of certain fees to be paid. The Minister denied requests from the applicant to waive the applicable $20.00 fee set under the authority of s. 54 the Act. Associate Chief Justice McGrath issued an Order that the applicant file with that court copies of his bank account statements and statements of any investments within ten (10) days so that the court could determine whether paying filing fees would constitute an undue hardship in accordance with Rule 7.19(8)(a) of the Rules of the Supreme Court, 1986. The applicant did not provide the requested financial documentation and, as a result, that court dismissed the request for a fee waiver. No financial information was provided by the applicant, and the Court of Appeal refused the request for a fee waiver.