During a criminal trial for assault with a knife, the Crown brought an application to admit the complainant’s preliminary inquiry testimony through an audio recording rather than calling the witness at trial.
Medical evidence established that the witness had developed schizophrenia and was suffering from psychosis, paranoia, and disorganized thinking, rendering him unable to testify and likely to suffer psychological harm if required to attend court.
The court held that the requirements of s. 715(1)(c) of the Criminal Code were satisfied because the witness was unable to testify and had previously testified under oath with full opportunity for cross‑examination.
The court further found that the evidence met the principled exception to hearsay, satisfying both necessity and threshold reliability.
The prior testimony from the preliminary inquiry was therefore admitted.
