Date: 2005-05-19 Docket: T-1927-02 Richard Morneau Prothonotary. | Link

The Court quotes Reading & Bates Construction Co. et al. v. Baker Energy Resources Corp. et al. (1988), 24 C.P.R. (3d) 66, stating "Mr. Justice McNair, in a general six-point reminder, first defines, in points 1 to 3, the tests for relevance of a question or document, and then itemizes in points 4 to 6 a series of circumstances or exceptions in which, at it happens, at the end of the day, a question need not be answered or a document need not be produced." In particular, 4 says "The court should not compel answers to questions which, although they might be considered relevant, are not at all likely to advance in any way the questioning party's legal position"; 5 says "Before compelling an answer to any question on an examination for discovery, the court must weigh the probability of the usefulness of the answer to the party seeking the information, with the time, trouble, expense and difficulty involved in obtaining it. Where on the one hand both the probative value and the usefulness of the answer to the examining party would appear to be, at the most, minimal and where, on the other hand, obtaining the answer would involve great difficulty and a considerable expenditure of time and effort to the party being examined, the court should not compel an answer. One must look at what is reasonable and fair under the circumstances" (underscored by the Court); and 6 "The ambit of questions on discovery must be restricted to unadmitted allegations of fact in the pleadings, and fishing expeditions by way of a vague, far-reaching or an irrelevant line of questioning are to be discouraged". (underscored by the Court.)