Majority
The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by
Dickson C.J.
1. The Chief Justice‑‑It will not be necessary to call upon you Mr. Collins. We agree with the following passage from the reasons of the Court of Appeal of Saskatchewan:
We believe that a distinction must be drawn between those occasions where a person in the course of providing evidence under oath is required, when answering truthfully, to disclose the commission by him, previously, of an offence (in which event, generally speaking, that evidence cannot subsequently be used against him) and those occasions where a person makes false statements, while under oath, as a result of which he is charged with giving false evidence. In the latter case the very essence of the offence, and its actus reus, is the giving of the false testimony. In this case the Crown sought to place the two exhibits into evidence to prove the actus reus of the offences charged and, if that evidence was otherwise admissible, it ought to have been received.
2. The appeal is accordingly dismissed.
Appeal dismissed.
Solicitor for the appellant: Drew S. Plaxton, Saskatoon.
Solicitor for the respondent: Roger Tassé, Ottawa.