Legal Question in Family Law in Canada

Re: witnessing an affidavit

In British Columbia, generally a Commissioner is limited to taking an oath on documents for use within the Province while those which a Notary Public has sworn may be used outside the Province.

Some Commissioenrs are limited to swearing documents for a limited purpose, such as in certain government offices; documents sworn before such a Commissioner may only be used for the business of that Commissioner's particular department or office.

There are exceptions and some jurisdictins may accept documents sworn by a Commissioner in another jurisdiction and some require a Notary's signature to be guaranteed by a governmental authority, such as the Lietenant-Governor of British Columbia.