Bill C-46

Reasons Given the list of factors that must be considered and the importance of the likely relevance of the reasons for the production of the records, the reasons in each of these cases were reviewed closely. [...] The defendant’s right to a full answer and defence (mentioned in 28 cases) and the potential prejudice to personal dignity and the right of privacy upon disclosure (29 cases) were the most commonly explored of the seven factors in the cases. [...] The probative value of the record was also a common theme, arising in almost half of cases (19), as was the reasonable expectation of privacy of the complainant, which was discussed by the judge in almost two thirds of the cases (24). [...] It states in part that, “… the Parliament of Canada recognizes that violence has a disadvantageous impact on the equal participation of women and children in society and on the rights on women and children to the security of the person, privacy and equal benefit under the law. [...] At the first stage, the accused must prove that the record is “likely relevant to an issue at trial or to the competence of a witness to testify” and that “the production of the record is necessary in the interests of justice”.