Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada often makes requests for documents.
In Paddayuman v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2019 FC 28, Justice Manson articulated two important principles for this requirement.
First, it is unreasonable to require documents that do not exist. While in Paddayuman this referred testimonies, affidavits and out of court settlement documents, it can also extend to reference letters, custody agreements, etc.
Second, the passage of a significant amount of time, while not determinative, does suggest that the stringency of document requirements should be viewed with a purposive lens.