What is the threshold question for a bar the chambers judge to exercise discretion?

The threshold question is whether the material before the chambers judge provides a factual foundation for the exercise of discretion. As Lambert J.A. pointed out in Nichols v. Gray, supra, at p. 14, the determination that the issues require a scientific or local examination which cannot be made conveniently with a jury, or are of an intricate or complex character, involves findings of fact underlying the exercise of discretion. While in the case at bar the chambers judge did not explicitly distinguish between the underlying findings of fact and the exercise of discretion, it is apparent that she based her decision on material before her which was sufficiently extensive and controversial to support a finding that the issues were complex or intricate.