Threshold Reliability of Hearsay: Motive to Fabricate
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. In R. v. Czibulka , 2004 CanLII 22985 (ON CA), 189 C.C.C. (3d) 199, 190 O.A.C. 1, at paras. 43-45 the Court recognized that where the Crown seeks to tender a hearsay statement under the principled approach to the admission of the hearsay evidence, the record will generally disclose one of the following three scenarios: 1. Proved absence of motive to fabricate The Crown may be able to show that the declarant had no known motive to fabricate the hearsay story to this witness about this accused. Khan and Smith (in respect of the first two statements) were such cases. 2. Proved motive to fabricate Conversely, the circumstances may be such that either because of direct evidence or logical inference it is apparent that the declarant did have a motive to fabricate this story. Starr and the third call in Smith would seem to b...