What is the test for reviewing an opinion of a trial judge?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Wolowidnyk v. Wolowidnyk, 2008 BCCA 135 (CanLII):

Because the trial judge has erred, it is open to us to reconsider the facts and law and, if justified, arrive at a different result (Housen v. Nikolaisen at para. 8): On a pure question of law, the basic rule with respect to the review of a trial judge's findings is that an appellate court is free to replace the opinion of the trial judge with its own.

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