Short title Application Statutes of Imperial CHAPTER 60 An Act respecting Witnesses and Evidence. SHORT TITLE. 1. This Act may be cited as "The Evidence Act." 1907, c. 12, s. 1. APPLICATION OF ACT. 2. This Act shall apply to all proceedings and matters whatsoever respecting which the Legislature of Saskatchewan has jurisdiction in this behalf. 1907, c. 12, s. 2. STATUTES AND ORDINANCES. 3. In any proceedings or matters whenever it becomes Parliament, necessary or expedient to prove or give in evidence any Statute of the Imperial Parliament, any Statute or Ordinance of Canada, of this province or of the late province of Canada or of the North-West Territories or of any province or territory forming part of Canada whether such Statute or Ordinance the King's or was passed before or after the passing of The British North of the Parliament of Canada, and of the Provincial Legisla tures, etc., printed by government printer of the place made evidence How imperial pro America Act 1867, any copy of any such Statute or Ordinance purporting to be printed and published by the King's printer or the government printer for Great Britain or Canada or for such province or territory shall be receivable and received in evidence to prove the contents thereof in every court or tribunal having cognizance of such proceedings. 1907, c. 12, s. 3. PUBLIC DOCUMENTS. 4. Imperial proclamations, orders in council, treaties, clamations, orders, warrants, licenses, certificates, rules, regulations or Orders in other imperial official records, Acts or documents may be Council, etc., may be proved proved: (a) In the same manner as the same are from time to time provable in any court in England; or (b) By the production of a copy of The Canada Gazette or a volume of the Acts of the Parliament of Canada purporting to contain a copy of the same or a notice thereof; or (c) By the production of a copy thereof purporting to be printed by the King's printer for Canada or by the government printer for Saskatchewan. 1907, c. 12, s. 4. clamations, Council, etc., Governor 5. Evidence of any proclamation, order, regulation or How proappointment made or issued by the Governor General or by orders in the Governor in Council or other chief executive officer or of the administrator for the time being of the Government of Canada General, or by or under the authority of any minister or head of etc., may be any department of the Government of Canada may be given in all or any of the modes hereinafter mentioned, that is to say: (a) By the production of a copy of The Canada Gazette (b) By the production of a copy of such proclamation, (c) By the production in the case of any proclamation, proved in the deemed to be 6. Publications in The Saskatchewan Gazette and all copies Publications of the Statutes of the province, the journals of the Legislative gazette Assembly, sessional papers and all other documents printed or authentic purporting to be printed by the government printer shall be deemed to be authentic and make proof of their contents without any other evidence; and all publications and copies of Statutes and all and singular other the premises so purporting to be printed as aforesaid shall be taken prima facie to be authentic copies of the originals thereof respectively and shall in all courts and proceedings be admitted in evidence without proof as the originals might be. 1908, c. 38, s. 30. clamations, of the 7. Evidence of any proclamation, order, regulation or How proappointment made or issued by the Lieutenant Governor or orders in Lieutenant Governor in Council of this or of any other of the Council, etc., provinces or territories of Canada or other chief executive Lieutenant officer or administrator for the time being of the government etc., may be Governor, proved Order signed by of the province or territory or by or under the authority of any member of the Executive Council being the head of any department of the government of such province or territory may be given in all or any of the modes hereinafter mentioned, that is to say: (a) By the production of a copy of the official gazette for the province or territory purporting to contain a copy of such proclamation, order, regulation or appointment or a notice thereof; (b) By the production of a copy of such proclamation, order, regulation or appointment purporting to be printed by the government printer for Saskatchewan or by the King's or government printer for the province or territory; (c) By the production of a copy or extract of such proclamation, order, regulation or appointment certified to be a true copy by the clerk or assistant clerk or acting clerk of the Executive Council or by the head of any department of the provincial or territorial government or by his deputy or acting deputy, as the case may be. 1907, c. 12, s. 6. 8. Any order in writing signed by the secretary of state secretary of for Canada and purporting to be written by command of the Governor General shall be received in evidence as the order of the Governor General. 1907, c. 12, s. 7. state Order signed by provincial secretary Notices, advertisements, etc., in Can ada Gazette or Saskatch 9. Any order in writing signed by the provincial secretary and purporting to be written by command of the Lieutenant Governor shall be received in evidence as the order of the Lieutenant Governor. 1907, c. 12, s. 8. OFFICIAL AND COURT DOCUMENTS. 10. All copies of official and other notices, advertisements and documents printed in The Canada Gazette or in The Saskatchewan Gazette or in the official gazette of any other ewan Gazette province or territory of Canada shall be prima facie evidence originals of the originals and of the contents thereof. 1907, c. 12, s. 9. evidence of Grant, map, plan, report, 11. In every case in which the original record could be letter, etc., received in evidence a copy of any grant, map, plan, report, department letter or of any official or public document belonging to or or Provincial deposited in any department of the Government of Canada, copy certified of this province or of any province or territory of Canada of Dominion Government by official having custody to be evidence purporting to be certified under the hand of any officer or person in whose custody such grant, map, plan, report, letter or official or public document is placed or a copy of a document, bylaw, rule, regulation or proceeding or of any entry in any register or other book of any municipal or other corpora bylaw, rule, municipal or copy of tion created by charter or Statute of Canada or by charter Document, or Ordinance of the North-West Territories or by charter etc., of or Statute of Saskatchewan or of any province or territory other corof Canada purporting to be certified under the seal of the porations corporation and the hand of the presiding officer, clerk or under seal, secretary thereof shall be received in evidence without proof evidence of the seal of the corporation or of the signature or of the official character of the person or persons appearing to have signed the same and without further proof thereof. 1907, c. 12, s. 10. etc., to be entries in government 12. A copy of any entry in any book kept in any depart- Copies of ment of the Government of Canada or of Saskatchewan or of books of any other province or territory of Canada shall be received departments as evidence of such entry and of the matters, transactions and accounts therein recorded if it is proved by the oath or affidavit of an officer of such department that such book was at the time of the making of the entry one of the ordinary books kept in such department, that the entry was made in the usual and ordinary course of business of such department and that such copy is a true copy thereof. 1907, c. 12, s. 11. public books admissible 13. Where a book or document is of so public a nature as Copies of to be admissible in evidence on its mere production from the or documents proper custody and no other Statute exists which renders its in evidence contents provable by means of a copy, a copy thereof or extract therefrom shall be admissible in evidence in any court of justice or before a person having by law or by consent of parties authority to hear, receive and examine evidence provided it is proved that it is a copy or extract purporting to be certified to be true by the officer to whose custody the original has been entrusted. 1907, c. 12, s. 12. notarial Acts in Quebec 14. Any document purporting to be a copy of a notarial Proof of act or instrument made, filed or enregistered in the Province of Quebec and to be certified by a notary or prothonotary to be a true copy of the original in his possession as such notary or prothonotary shall be received in evidence in the place and stead of the original; and shall have the same force and effect as the original would have if produced and proved: Provided that it may be proved in rebuttal that there is no such original or that the copy is not a true copy of the original in some material particular or that the original is not an instrument of such nature as may by the law of the Province of Quebec be taken before a notary or be filed, enrolled or enregistered by a notary in the said province. 1907, c. 12, s. 13. 15. A copy of any writ, record, pleading or of any other Document in document, writing or proceeding filed in any court of this court of the province when certified by the clerk of the court wherein certified copy 673 province to be evidence Proof of judicial of courts outside the province may be made by tion or certified copy the same is filed shall be admissible in evidence in all causes and matters and between all persons or parties to the same extent as the original would be admissible. 1907, c. 12, s. 14. 16. Evidence of any proceeding or record whatsoever of, proceedings in or before any court in the United Kingdom or the supreme or exchequer courts of Canada or any court in any province of Canada or before any justice of the peace or any coroner in any exemplifica province of Canada or any court in any British colony or possession or any court of record of the United States of America or of any state of the United States of America or of any other foreign country may be made in any action or proceeding by an exemplification or certified copy thereof purporting to be under the seal of such court or under the hand or seal of such justice or coroner, as the case may be, without any proof of the authenticity of such seal or of the signature of such justice or coroner or other proof whatever; and if any such court, justice or coroner has no seal or so certifies then by a copy purporting to be certified under the signature of a judge or presiding magistrate of such court or of such justice or coroner without any proof of the authenticity of such signature or other proof whatsoever. 1907, c. 12, s. 15. Certified copy of instrument from land titles office prima facie evidence Protests of bills or notes prima facie evidence Production of protest facie evidence of making of protest 17. A copy of any instrument (as the term "instrument" is defined in The Land Titles Act) filed or registered in any land registration district of the province when certified to be a true copy by the registrar in charge of the land titles office in which the original is filed or registered shall be received as prima facie evidence of such instrument and of the contents thereof. 1907, c. 12, s. 16. 18. All protests of bills of exchange and promissory notes shall be received as prima facie evidence of the allegations of facts therein contained. 1907, c. 12, s. 17. 19. The production of any protest of a bill of exchange or to be prima promissory note purporting to be under the hand and seal of any notary public shall be prima facie evidence of the making of such protest without proof of such seal and signature being the seal and signature of the person whose seal and signature the same purports to be or of the official character of such person. 1907, c. 12, s. 18. Notarial certificate prima facie evidence of certain facts 20. Any note, memorandum or certificate at any time made by a notary or firm of notaries in Canada in the handwriting of such notary or a member of such firm, signed by such notary or firm at the foot of or embodied in any protest or in a regular register of official acts kept by such notary or firm shall be prima facie evidence in Saskatchewan of the fact of notice of nonacceptance or nonpayment of a bill of |