EVIDENCE |
Quebec (Health and Safety Commission) v. Canada
T-2492-84
Blais J.
6/11/00
28 pp.
Admissibility of report--Motion for ruling on admissibility as evidence of portion of expurgated version of report dated June 1984, prepared by Canadian Armed Forces, subject of which same as one in dispute herein, namely, weaknesses in maintenance of security and control over access to weapons and munitions at Carp Military Base in 1984--Motion allowed--Investigative report relevant and related to proceeding--Report deals with same matters raised by plaintiff in pleadings: matters concerning control of weapons and munitions at time of incident of May 8, 1984--Should be noted that relevance of evidence adds nothing to its probative value at trial--Report may not be entirely excluded even if constitutes hearsay--Appears from Canada Evidence Act, s. 30(11) that document drawn up in course of inquiry may be admissible if some rule of law or legislation allowing its admissibility--Must be determined whether report fulfilling two tests set out by Supreme Court of Canada in R. v. Khan, [1990] 2 S.C.R. 531 in relation to admissibility of hearsay evidence: necessity and reliability--Here, no doubt that report meeting reliability test--However, conclusions and recommendations of report constituting opinions that should be excluded under rule of exclusion of opinions of lay witnesses--Report's findings relate to defendant's negligence and Trial Judge in position to draw own conclusions on that without resorting to report--Elements in litigation can be proved in some way other than through report, and plaintiff not barred from presenting evidence in some other way acceptable under rules for admissibility of evidence--Report should therefore be divided among its different components--Parties have already agreed part constituting testimony of soldiers questioned during investigation should be accepted and tabled as evidence at trial--However, Committee of Inquiry's conclusions and recommendations may not be accepted in evidence--Administrative and disciplinary decisions made by responsible officer in weeks and months following events completely contemporaneous with events and irremediably linked to them--These are facts--Since sixteen years have elapsed since events, in interests of justice that this part of report be admissible in evidence--Up to Court to assess probative value in light of evidence as whole presented to it--Canada Evidence Act, R.S.C., 1985, c. C-5, s. 30(11).