In this Appeal, the Court addressed the standard for admitting new evidence on an Appeal from the Decision of a Master. Noting amendments to Rule 6.14, which clarify that the new evidence must be “relevant and material”, the Court held that the standard for admission of evidence carries forward the practice under the old Rules of Court.

The test for admitting new evidence on Appeals from the Decision of a Master is prescribed in Rule 6.14; the evidence must be relevant and material. The Court of Appeal ruled that the common-law test in R v Palmer, [1980] 2 SCR 759, is inapplicable to Appeals from a Master to a Judge.

The Court also questioned the Chambers Judge’s finding that the new Rules changed the standard of review applicable to Appeals from the Decision of a Master. Côté J.A. wrote that such Appeals have always been on the record, and that “[j]ust because the Rule expressly states that now does not necessarily change anything”.