What is the scope of an application to amend the pleadings?

With respect to the amendments in dispute, the court’s authority to permit amendments to pleadings is discretionary with the overriding concern being whether the amendments are “just and convenient” (Chouinard v. O’Connor, 2011 BCCA 161, at para. 21). As reflected in the cases, applications to amend pleadings can take place before, during or after a trial. Here the application is during the trial, after about 100 days of hearing, still during the plaintiffs’ case and with a large number of days of trial to come.