March 26, 2024 – When Affidavit Evidence is from Someone Else

“I turn to the admissibility of evidence led on behalf of all of the Respondents in the affidavit sworn February 5, 2021. The Applicant appropriately challenges a significant portion of that evidence.  As the regulated form 14A indicates, the affidavit is to include statements of fact and contains this warning:

If you learned a fact from someone else, you must give that person’s name and state that you believe that fact to be true.

That warning reflects Family Law Rule 14(17) and (18) which provide that evidence on a motion may be given by affidavit and, shall, as much as possible, contain only information within the personal knowledge of the deponent. Pursuant to rule 14(19), the affidavit may contain information that the person learned from someone else, but only if the source of the information is identified by name and the affidavit states that the person signing it believes the information is true.”

          Wu v. Di Iorio, 2021 ONSC 2332 (CanLII) at 39-40