What is the effect of the new "semblance of relevance" test on documentary discovery?

Ontario, Canada


The following excerpt is from Hanson v Stollery Estate, 2017 ONSC 528 (CanLII):

Effective January 1, 2010, the scope of documentary discovery was narrowed by the replacement of the broad "semblance of relevance" test with a narrower test calling for actual relevance. As described in Stewart v. Kempster, [2012] O.J. No. 6145, this change was intended to inject a sense of restraint into the discovery process.

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