What is the limit on disclosure by a party in a family law case?

British Columbia, Canada


The following excerpt is from Villeneuve v Agnew, 2021 BCSC 62 (CanLII):

I find the statement made by Justice Perell in Boyd v. Fields, [2007] W.D.F.L. 2449, 2006 CarswellOnt 8675 at para. 12 helpful in delineating the limit on a party’s disclosure: Full and frank disclosure is a fundamental tenet of the Family Law Rules. However, there is also an element of proportionally, common sense and fairness built into these rules. A party’s understandable aspiration for the outmost disclosure is not the standard. Fairness and some degree of genuine relevance, which is the ability of the evidence to contribute to the fact finding process are factors. I also observe that just as non-disclosure can be harmful to a fair trial, so can excessive disclosure be harmful because it can confuse, mislead or distract the trier of fact’s attention from the main issues and unduly occupy the trier of fact’s time and ultimately impair a fair trial.

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