N. Eisazadeh

The Ontario Provincial Police executed search warrants at the applicants' premises as part of a fraud investigation and seized surreptitiously recorded telephone conversations with potential witnesses.

The applicants claimed these recordings were protected by litigation privilege.

The court held that litigation privilege protects a lawyer's work product and strategy, not the underlying facts or witness statements themselves.

The court ordered the recordings to be released to the police.

The applicants sought a determination of privilege claims over documents seized by the Ontario Provincial Police during a fraud investigation.

The court ruled that draft letters and internal emails prepared for counsel's review were privileged.

Regarding copies of non-privileged documents gathered for a lawyer's brief, the court analyzed conflicting appellate authorities and concluded that such copies are only protected by litigation privilege if their gathering reflects specialized skill and knowledge, and provided the original documents are otherwise produced.