The accused, facing charges including breach of trust, fraudulent computer access, and organized crime affiliation, brought an application to compel the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to produce extensive computer records for his defence.
The CRA opposed, citing taxpayer privacy under the Income Tax Act and arguing the request was overly broad.
The Crown characterized the request as a fishing expedition.
The court dismissed the application, finding that the accused failed to establish the likely relevance of the requested information to an issue at trial or witness competence, noting the vague assertions and the accused's own admissions of unauthorized access.