Tax Court of Canada Rules of Procedure respecting the Employment Insurance Act

25 (1) A party to an appeal may, prior to the hearing thereof or at any time during the hearing, apply to the Court for a direction permitting all facts or any particular fact or facts to be proved by other than oral evidence and the Court may give such direction as in its opinion the circumstances of the case require.

(2) All evidence given at the hearing of an appeal shall be recorded by a court reporter appointed by the Registrar for that purpose.

(3) Any person who swears an affidavit to be used in an appeal may be required to appear before a person appointed by the Court for that purpose to be cross-examined thereon.

(4) Where a party intends to call an expert witness at the hearing of an appeal, that party shall, as soon as practicable and not later than 20 days before the date of the hearing of the appeal, serve at the Registry and on every other party a copy of the report signed by that expert containing the expert’s name, address and qualifications and a statement of the substance of that expert’s proposed testimony.

(5) A copy of a report by an expert witness shall be served

• (a) by filing it in the Registry in which the notice of appeal was filed or to which it was mailed or by sending the report by mail or fax to that Registry, and

• (b) on every other party to an appeal by personal service or by sending the report to that party by mail or fax

and, if a copy of the report is served by fax, the date of service is the date of the transmission of the fax, or if it 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.

(6) A party who has failed to comply with subsection (4) is not permitted to call an expert witness without leave of the Court.

(7) Subsections (4) and (6) do not apply to evidence in rebuttal.

(8) The Court may, with the consent of all parties, receive in evidence at the hearing of the appeal a report served under subsection (4) without requiring the expert to attend and give oral evidence.

(9) Where it is impracticable or inconvenient for an expert witness to attend at the hearing of an appeal, the party intending to call the witness may, with leave of the Court or the consent of the parties, examine the witness under oath prior to the hearing of the appeal before a court reporter appointed by the Registrar for the purpose of having the evidence of that expert available for use at the hearing of the appeal.

(10) An expert witness who is examined under subsection (9) may be examined, cross-examined by a party adverse in interest, or re-examined in the same manner as a witness at the hearing of an appeal and, if any dispute arises during the course of the examination, any party to the appeal may make application to the Court to resolve the dispute.

(11) Where the evidence of an expert witness has been taken under subsections (9) and (10), that witness shall not be called to give evidence at the hearing of the appeal, except with leave of the Court or unless the Court requires the attendance of that witness at the hearing of the appeal.