The Crown brought an ex parte application seeking judicial authorization to disclose a redacted version of an accused’s statement to co‑accused without revealing that any redactions had been made.
The redactions were necessary to protect the identity of the accused as a confidential informant unrelated to the charges.
The court held that granting the request would effectively authorize the creation and use of evidence that was not what it appeared to be, which would improperly mislead participants in a judicial proceeding.
While recognizing the practical difficulty created by informer privilege and disclosure obligations in a multi‑accused prosecution, the court declined to provide such authorization.
The application was dismissed and the materials were ordered sealed.
