Where a prosecutor declines to call a material witness on the basis of assessed unreliability supported by identifiable circumstances, and the defence calls that witness and is able to elicit all material evidence, the resulting tactical disadvantage to the defence (including the prosecutor's ability to cross-examine and attack the witness's credibility) does not of itself constitute a miscarriage of justice. The principles governing the Crown's duty to call witnesses apply to all material witnesses, not only those whose names appear on the information.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 13 later cases that cite this judgment.