More on spousal incompetence

Further to my post of yesterday regarding the spousal incompetence rule (thanks to Yossi Schochet, for pointing this out) Allbright J in R v. Martin, [2002] S.J. No. 473 (QB) also tried to expand the rule to include common law spouses and was recently overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal in Martin, [2009] S.J. No. 149.  The Court of Appeal held:

 

 

22     In my view, the expansion of the spousal incompetency rule by the learned trial judge is far more than an incremental change required to keep the common law in step with the changing social, moral and economic fabric of Canada. Rather, it is a major change that should be left to Parliament...