For current and former CRA employees: Request for legal assistance or indemnification
Legal assistance and indemnification (LAI) are supports that may be available to current and former:
- employees in situations where they are subject to legal action or potential legal action, defamation, threatening conduct and other vindictive actions by external parties
- executives, unrepresented and excluded managers who face allegations from within the CRA
On this page
What is legal assistance and indemnification
Legal assistance is a service provided by the Department of Justice, a Crown agent, private counsel, or paralegal services and may include associated costs such as travel, incidental costs, and use of essential expert witnesses.
Indemnification is the payment or reimbursement as a result of:
- a judgement or cost award against an employee
- a monetary settlement of a claim
- an action made or brought against an employee that is pre-approved by the appropriate authority based on the Department of Justice recommendations
Eligible employees may apply for one or both of these support options.
Who is eligible and when to apply
Current and former employees may be eligible for LAI.
Definition of employee
For the purpose of requesting legal assistance and/or indemnification, "employee" applies to CRA employees defined in Section 2 of the Federal Public Sector Labour Relations Act as well as any of the following:
- An indeterminate employee
- A determinate employee
- An employee for a term of less than three months (full-time or part-time)
- An employee occupying an excluded position
- A part-time employee
- A former employee
- A person in an unrepresented occupation group
- Incoming and outgoing Interchange Program participant
- A student
- A former student
- An estate of an individual mentioned above
The word employee does not apply to visitors, volunteers, short or long-term contractors.
When to apply for legal assistance and/or indemnification
Request LAI if you are a current or former employee who is, but not limited to, any of the following:
- Named in an external claim related to your work for the CRA or included in a claim that names multiple other individuals and relates to your work for the CRA
- Pursuing legal action against external parties related to your work for the CRA
- An executive, an unrepresented manager or excluded manager faced with internal employment-related allegations related to your time working for the CRA
- Required to testify in court or other legal proceedings as a named witness or to provide expert testimony
How to apply
Submit a new request at each stage of the legal process
It can take a long time for a legal process to be resolved and may include more than one stage, such as an appeal. You will need to submit a new request for legal assistance and/or indemnification at each stage of the legal process.
If you are a current CRA employee:
- Complete Sections A, B, C,D, E, and F of the Request for Legal Assistance and Indemnification form (RC906) (external link).
- Complete the Request for Legal Representation by the Attorney General of Canada (RC903) form found on InfoZone.
- Email the completed Request for Legal Assistance and Indemnification form, the Request for Legal Representation form, and any supporting documents to your manager.
If you are a former CRA employee:
- Complete Sections A, B, C,D, E, and F of the Request for Legal Assistance and Indemnification form.
- Email the completed Request for Legal Assistance and Indemnification and any supporting documents to HRLRPolicy@cra-arc.gc.ca
- Upon receipt your application, the manager responsible for reviewing your request will send you the Request for Legal Representation by the Attorney General of Canada (RC903) form to sign and return.
After you have applied
The manager will review the application and supporting documents to determine if you meet the eligibility criteria and will make a recommendation on whether to approve the request.
CRA Legal Services will also review the application and provide a recommendation on whether to approve the request.
These recommendations will be sent to the appropriate authority for approval. The appropriate authority will vary depending on the specifics of the request, and will be at the Assistant Commissioner or Commissioner level.