Basically, there isn't really any difference between “believes” and “fears” from a legal standpoint, according to the Ontario Court of Appeal. Both require an objective assessment by the court.
Regardless of which term you use, the court has said that the test will be the same. Whether it's a fear or a belief, the court will still have to decide whether there's an objective reality to that fear or belief. They do that by asking, “What would a reasonable person in a similar situation do if they had the same facts before them? Would they have this fear or belief?” That's how they assess it objectively, but there's no real difference that we've seen in the case law from our research between “belief” and “fear”.
Thank you.