Is a pleading sufficient to be dismissed on the grounds that it fails to disclose a reasonable cause of action?

The law is clear that the issue of whether a pleading discloses a reasonable cause of action must be decided on the face of the pleading alone. The statement of claim, viewed in isolation from the statement of defence and the affidavit evidence, is lacking some important particulars, such as dates. However, this did not prevent the defendant from pleading to it, and the general rule appears to be that filing a statement of defence precludes a motion to strike for failure to disclose a reasonable cause of action. In McCurdy v. McKenzie (1986)[1], O’Sullivan J.A. noted: I do not think that it was open to the judge to dismiss on the ground of failure to disclose a cause of action because a statement of defence has already been filed on behalf of the government. [2]…..