What is the test for striking an application to strike?

On an application to strike, the question is whether it is “plain and obvious” that the claim is certain to fail even if the notice of civil claim is read as generously as possible and it is assumed that the facts set out in the pleading are true. When the application is based on an assertion that the claim discloses no reasonable cause of action, as in the present case, no evidence can be considered and the determination is made solely by reference to what is alleged in the notice of civil claim. The burden to show such an absence of a reasonable cause of action lies on the applicant, and it is a high one (Goy v. District of Sechelt, 2020 BCSC 1242 at paras. 55 and 56; Lam v. Ark Platforms Inc., 2021 BCSC 647 at para. 4).