What is the absolute necessity of an absolute disclosure of confidential documents?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Ilczaszyn v Association of Registered Nurses of British Columbia, 2017 BCSC 1260 (CanLII):

Absolute necessity is as restrictive a test as may be formulated short of an absolute prohibition in every case. The circumstances in which the test has been met exemplify its restrictive nature. In Solosky v. The Queen, 1979 CanLII 9 (SCC), [1980] 1 S.C.R. 821, at p. 841, for example, it was found that subject to strict safeguards, mail received by an inmate at a penitentiary could be inspected to maintain the safety and security of the penitentiary. Similarly, in McClure, it was found that documents subject to privilege could be disclosed where there was a genuine danger of wrongful conviction because the information was not available from other sources and the accused could not otherwise raise a reasonable doubt as to his guilt.

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