What is the scope of character evidence in a civil trial?

The scope of admissibility of character evidence in civil trials was also usefully discussed in two earlier cases. The first case was Brownell v. Brownell (1909), 1909 CanLII 21 (SCC), 42 S.C.R. 368, in which the trial judge refused to compel the defendant to give the name of his 'bigamous wife' in a divorce trial. Other evidence solely related to credibility was admitted, but the trial judge was held to have the discretion to "protect a witness against questions which are purely vexatious." The court went on to hold that [no] doubt the limits of relevancy must be less tightly drawn upon cross-examination than upon direct examination. The introduction upon cross-examination of the issues of the witness's credibility necessarily enlarges the field. But it does not follow that all barriers are therefore thrown down. That which is clearly irrelevant to this issue or to the issues raised in the pleadings is no more admissible in cross-examination than in examination in chief (at 374).