Bill C-51

Under section 359, evidence that property, other than the property that is the subject matter of the offence, was found in the possession of the accused and was stolen within the 12 months prior to the beginning of the proceedings, is admissible at any stage of the proceedings and may be considered for the purpose of proving that the accused knew that the property that forms the subject matter of [...] In that case, the majority of the Supreme Court held that the third-party records regime in sections 278.1 to 278.9 of the Code did not apply to the use or admissibility of records already in the hands of the accused.75 The proper test for admissibility, according to the Court, was found in R. v. Osolin and R. v. Seaboyer. [...] The procedure governing the admissibility hearings for complainants’ private records in the hands of the accused may result in the defence disclosing evidence in its possession, as well as the relevance of that evidence, to the complainant and the complainant’s counsel because the complainant will now have standing to participate in the admissibility hearing. [...] Clause 23 extends this definition to new section 278.92, which governs the admissibility of records “relating to a complainant that is in the possession or control of the accused” in a range of proceedings related to offences that have a sexual component (clause 25).77 2.2.5.2 ADMISSIBILITY OF PRIVATE RECORDS RELATING TO THE COMPLAINANT IN THE POSSESSION OF THE ACCUSED (CLAUSE 25) Clause 25 of Bil [...] The procedures for applications and hearings on the admissibility of private records relating to the complainant in the hands of the accused are not the same as the current application and hearing process for the production of third-party records, in line with the Supreme Court’s decision in Shearing.