WHEREAS section 7(1) of the Federal Courts Act and section 6(1) of the Tax Court of Canada Act require a judge of these courts to reside within 40 km of the National Capital Region;

WHEREAS the Federal Court and Tax Court are itinerant courts sitting in 18 and 59 municipalities respectively across Canada, with judges expected to travel away from their residence for significant amounts of time;

WHEREAS the Federal Court was created as a court of plenary jurisdiction, with specialized judges and the Tax Court was created as a specialized court with judges who specialize in tax law;

WHEREAS lawyers with the requisite specializations for these courts reside across Canada;

WHEREAS the residency requirements were enacted when technology did not exist to permit judges and court staff to work remotely;

WHEREAS the residency requirement dissuades or prevents qualified individuals from across Canada from applying to be judges of these courts;

WHEREAS eliminating the residency requirement will invite a wider and more diverse pool of applicants who have the specializations to be judges of these courts;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Canadian Bar Association urge the federal government to repeal of section 7(1) of the Federal Court of Canada Act (as it pertains to the Federal Court) and section 6(1) of the Tax Court of Canada Act.

Moved by Commodity Tax, Customs and Trade Section, Intellectual Property Section, Taxation Law Section, Federal Court Bench and Bar Liaison Committee and Judicial Issues Subcommittee

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