The United States District Court sought judicial assistance via letters rogatory under s. 43 of the Canada Evidence Act to obtain documents and tape recordings for a criminal tax evasion trial in Florida.
The Alberta Court of Appeal held that s. 43 did not permit an order for the production of documents unless it was ancillary to oral testimony.
The Supreme Court of Canada allowed the appeal, holding that s. 43 should be given a broad, liberal construction in the interests of comity and permits an order for the production of documents alone.
The Court also held that illegally intercepted telephone conversations could be disclosed at the s. 43 hearing, provided they were only used against accused persons who were not parties to the communications.
