Native Council Of Nova Scotia

Native Council of Nova Scotia v. Canada (Attorney General), 2011 FC 72

Federal Court, January 25, 2011

Available at: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca

The applicants are three Chiefs and three self governing organizations representing off-reserve Aboriginal peoples, the Native Council of Nova Scotia, the New Brunswick Aboriginal Peoples Council and the Native Council of Prince Edward Island. The applicants seek a declaration that the decisions of Governor in Council and the Minister of Industry regarding the 2011 Census and National Household Survey are unconstitutional in that they infringe equality rights of Aboriginal people.

Preliminary Objection to Affidavit Evidence

The applicants argued that Rule 81(1) of the Federal Courts Rules confining affidavits to facts and personal knowledge must also be considered in light of established case law indicating there are only 2 limitations on admitting extrinsic evidence. The limitations are: (1) evidence that is inherently unreliable or offends public policy; and (2) evidence that is used to aid construction of the statute. The appellants also argued that the expert affidavit evidence is important to ensure there is a proper factual foundation when one is...