CRA confirmed that an individual could claim (within the 5-year carryforward period from the year of the donation, in years in which she was married) the portions of a charitable donation that her husband had made before they had married, but which he had not claimed (perhaps, because of his limited income).
Regarding whether she could open up statute-barred taxation years to make such claims, CRA stated:
[S]ubsection 152(4.2) of the Act gives the Minister of National Revenue the discretionary authority to make a reassessment or a redetermination beyond the normal reassessment period in respect of a tax year, when requested by an individual or a graduated-rate estate, in order to determine a refund or to reduce tax payable. The request must be made in writing on or before the day that is 10 calendar years after the end of the tax year. Generally, an individual can make a written request in respect of a tax year, within this 10-year time limit, if the individual was not aware of, or missed claiming a deduction or a credit that was available for that year.