Federal Court of Appeal Decisions

                                                                                                                                            Date: 20031120

                                                                                                                                          Docket: 03-A-47

                                                                                                                              Citation: 2003 FCA 437

CORAM:        STRAYER J.A.

BETWEEN:

                                                                 SARAH BURMAN

                                                                                                                                                       Appellant

                                                                                 and

                                                        HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

                                                                                                                                                   Respondent

                                                            REASONS FOR ORDER

STRAYER J.A.

[1]                 This is a motion for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal from a final judgment of the Tax Court of Canada issued on May 30, 2003. The appellant appeared before the Tax Court and represented herself on May 28. She took no steps to appeal the decision until some 3 months later when she wrote to the Tax Court concerning a possible appeal. She subsequently applied to this Court, by notice of motion filed on October 16, 2003 for an extension of time to file an appeal (3½ months after the time for doing so had expired). She states in a brief affidavit that she is "due for duplicate eye surgery" which was delayed "by the SARS tragedy". She does not give any specifics in this affidavit as to the nature of her condition, when it started, and what problem she would encounter in the mere filing of a notice of appeal that she would not have encountered in personally presenting her case to the Tax Court. Nor does she state that her appeal has merit or why it does, nor that she has intended throughout the delay to appeal. These are all necessary elements of a motion for an extension of time to file an appeal. I also note that while in her affidavit she states that she relies on the facts in her "affidavit sworn October [no date specified]" such affidavit is nowhere in the materials.

[2]                 In the circumstances, on the material before me and making all due allowances I have concluded that this motion should be refused.

                                                                                                                                          (s) "B.L. Strayer"          

J.A.

                                                    FEDERAL COURT OF APPEAL

                              NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD

DOCKET:                                              03-A-47

STYLE OF CAUSE:              Sarah Burman v. Her Majesty the Queen

MOTION DEALT WITH IN WRITING WITHOUT APPEARANCE OF PARTIES

REASONS FOR ORDER OF THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE STRAYER

DATED:          November 20, 2003

WRITTEN REPRESENTATIONS:

Ms. Sarah Burman

Toronto, Ontario                                                                                                 ON HER OWN BEHALF

Ms. Meghan Castle

Toronto, Ontario                                                                                                FOR THE RESPONDENT

SOLICITORS OF RECORD:

Ms.Sarah Burman

Toronto, Ontario                                                                                                 ON HER OWN BEHALF

Morris Rosenberg

Deputy Attorney General of Canada

Toronto, Ontario                                                                                                FOR THE RESPONDENT