Gonsalves v. Hudson’s Bay Company, 2015 HRTO 678

1In reviewing the material that the applicant has filed, I note that he intends to call the following witnesses at the hearing scheduled for May 29, 2015: Lenny Cooper, Mark Bridgemohan, Ralph Turner, Any Werner and Winston Gordon. The applicant indicates that these witnesses “will be answering questions regarding the conversations they have heard regarding the letter intending to demote me due to my medical condition.”

2Rule 17.2 requires the applicant to provide a statement summarizing each witness’s intended evidence. The applicant indicates that his witnesses “will be answering questions regarding the conversations they have heard regarding the letter intending to demote me due to my medical condition”. This clearly is not sufficient. A witness statement must identify the particular events to which each witness will testify. See Chopra v. Kratiuk, 2009 HRTO 1243.

3In the circumstances, the applicant is directed to file with the Tribunal and deliver to the respondent a witness statement for each intended witness that complies with Rule 17 on or before May 27, 2015. In the event the applicant fails to provide adequate statements for each of his intended witnesses on or before May 27, 2015, the Tribunal may bar the applicant from leading evidence that has not been particularized in the statements of the witnesses.