A party who tenders a witness as an expert is required to demonstrate that the witness has acquired a special knowledge of a particular topic by formal study, practical experience, or both, which extends beyond that of the trier of fact. The competence of the witness to give expert evidence, or be qualified as an expert, does not depend upon how the skill was acquired, only that it has been gained. The expert must be one who is shown to have acquired special or peculiar knowledge through study or experience about the matters upon which he or she undertakes to testify: R v. Mohan, 1994 CanLII 80 (SCC), [1994] 2 S.C.R. 9.