The applicant, charged with first-degree murder, brought a pre-trial application seeking disclosure of information provided to police by a confidential informer, arguing the informer was a material witness and the information was necessary to raise a reasonable doubt.
The court held that the 'innocence at stake' test is the sole exception to informer privilege, even for material witnesses.
While the applicant established that the privileged information was not available from any other source, the court found the application premature.
The court dismissed the application without prejudice, ruling that the trial judge would be in a better position to determine if the applicant could raise a reasonable doubt without the privileged information after the Crown's key witness was cross-examined.
