The authority relied on to obtain judicial relief from the undertaking is Juman v. Doucette, 2008 SCC 8 (CanLII), [2008] 1 S.C.R. 157. The underlying principle is succinctly set out in the headnote to which I refer: The court has the discretionary power to grant exemptions from or variations to the undertaking, but unless an examinee is satisfied that such exemptions or variations will only be granted in exceptional circumstances, the undertaking will not achieve its intended purpose. Accordingly, unless a statutory exemption overrides the implied undertaking, the onus will be on the person applying for the exemption or variation to demonstrate on a balance of probabilities the existence of a public interest of greater weight than the values the implied undertaking is designed to protect, namely privacy, protection against self-incrimination, and the efficient conduct of civil litigation. The factors that may be taken into account include public safety concerns or contradictory testimony by the examinee about the same matters in different proceedings. In situations of immediate and serious danger, the applicant may be justified in going directly to the police without a court order.
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