Canada Case Law

R. v. Vickers

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

On the totality of the Amended ITO — including two confidential informants whose prior reliability and corroboration were described, contemporaneous surveillance showing repeated short-duration visits consistent with trafficking, a neighbour's letter, a Crime Stoppers tip, prior police encounters placing the accused at the residence, and observations on September 17, 2020 of the accused entering with a key and individuals smoking a substance consistent with fentanyl — a issuing judicial justice of the peace could reasonably have found that reasonable and probable grounds existed to issue the…

Source excerpt

• Search warrant validity
• Confidential informant reliability
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Facial challenge to warrant
• Corroboration and totality of circumstances

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R. v. Breton

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court of Appeal upheld a forfeiture order over cash seized from Marcel Breton’s garage, rejecting issue estoppel and allowing a fresh s. 24(2) analysis.

• S.24(2) charter
• S.8 charter
• S.490(9) criminal code
• Issue estoppel
• Search warrant validity
• Evidence exclusion

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R. v. Donovan

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Appeal dismissed in a drug and firearms case. The Court upheld the pre-trial handling of the search-warrant challenge, rejected Kienapple, and found the verdicts were not inconsistent.

• Search warrant validity
• S.8 charter challenge
• Vukelich hearing
• Garofoli/voir dire
• Telewarrant (s.487.1)
• Kienapple multiple convictions principle

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R. v. Okezie

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The less‑redacted ITO, which included a confidential informant's identification of the appellant and corroborating information confirming the informant's reliability, provided reliable evidence that might reasonably be believed; coupled with common‑sense inferences that the appellant—unaware he had been videotaped four days earlier—would likely still have the firearm and store it at home or in his car, the issuing justice could reasonably conclude the warrant could have issued; no reviewable error was shown, so the warrant was valid and the convictions stand.

Source excerpt

• Search warrant validity
• Facial challenge to information to obtain
• Confidential informant identification
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Standard of review for warrants
• Corroboration of informant information

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R. v. Chaisson

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

On the totality of the information in the ITOs — including confidential informant reports, police database checks (PROS, CPIC, JEIN), and corroboration between sources and police inquiries — a justice of the peace could reasonably have inferred there were credible and reliable grounds to issue the warrants; cross‑examination and disclosure did not reveal material falsehoods or deliberate omissions by the affiants, therefore both the facial and sub‑facial challenges fail and the warrants and seized evidence are lawful and admissible.

Source excerpt

• S.8 charter unreasonable search
• S.24(2) exclusion of evidence
• Search warrant validity
• Facial and sub‑facial ito challenges
• Confidential informants
• Information to obtain

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R. v. Anthony and Trembley

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held that, after agreed excisions, the ITO did not justify search warrants for two suites linked to alleged drug trafficking, and found s. 8 Charter breaches.

• Search warrant validity
• S.8 charter unreasonable search
• S.11 cdsa search warrants
• Garofoli standard of review
• Production orders and excisions
• Tracking warrants

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R. v. Steer

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court upheld a search warrant for a Nanaimo residence and truck, finding the ITO showed reasonable grounds linking them to alleged illegal fishing activity.

• Search warrant validity
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Section 8 charter
• Section 24(2) charter exclusion
• Information to obtain (ito)
• Search-warrant-validity

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R. v. England

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

Conviction appeal dismissed because, although the trial judge described the dismissal as summary and did not apply Haevischer, she in substance decided the motion to re-open on the full evidentiary record the defence sought and the outcome would have been the same; sentence appeal dismissed because any error in exceeding a Crown position or misapprehending one prior sentence did not materially affect the fit aggregate sentence given the appellant's high-level commercial trafficking, multiple drugs and a loaded firearm, extensive record, and proper application of totality and sentencing princi…

Source excerpt

• Search warrant validity
• Garofoli application
• Summary dismissal
• Affiant credibility
• Haevischer standard
• Totality principle

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R. v. Pulford

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The court held the agreed statement of facts cured the facial jurat defect, the affiant's descriptions and the videos provided reasonable and probable grounds to issue the warrant, there was no s.8 breach requiring exclusion, the reviewing judge erred, the seized evidence is admissible and the matter must proceed to trial.

Source excerpt

• Search warrant validity
• Section 8 charter (unreasonable search)
• Section 24(2) charter (exclusion of evidence)
• Definition of child pornography (s.163.1)
• Commissioners for taking affidavits act compliance
• Garofoli review standard

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United States of America v. PacNet Services Ltd.

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

B.C. Court of Appeal denied leave to appeal from a MLAT sending order, holding the applicants had not shown a meritorious question of law on cross-examination, warrant validity, or transfer terms.

• Sending order
• Search warrant validity
• Cross-examination of affidavit affiant
• Overbreadth and vagueness under s.8 charter
• Discretion to impose terms on mlat transfer
• Mutual-legal-assistance

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