Canada Case Law

R. v. Dinh

Court

British Columbia Court of Appeal

The Court dismissed the appeal: the authorizing officer had objectively reasonable and probable grounds for the warrantless arrest based on a corroborated Crime Stoppers tip and surveillance; the initial 47‑minute delay in facilitating counsel was reasonable in all the circumstances; although the trial judge erred in parts of his s.24(2) assessment of seriousness, a fresh balancing of Grant factors still favoured admission because the impact on the accused was minimal and the drug evidence was reliable and central to the Crown's case.

Source excerpt

• Warrantless arrest
• Section 9 arbitrary detention
• Section 10(b) right to counsel
• Section 24(2) exclusion of evidence
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Informer privilege

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R. v. Majcher

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

Although the arresting officer sincerely believed Majcher conspired with PRC actors, the totality of circumstances known by July 16, 2023 consisted largely of unverified open‑source material, tenuous associations, and speculative inferences; those materials were not sufficiently credible or compelling to permit an objectively reasonable belief of a conspiracy to employ coercive threats under SOIA, and therefore the warrantless arrest violated section 9 of the Charter.

Source excerpt

• Warrantless arrest
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Section 9 charter
• Search incident to arrest
• Conspiracy
• Security of information act (ss.20,22,23)

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R. v. Vickers

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court found Cpl. Long subjectively believed and objectively had reasonable and probable grounds to arrest the accused for trafficking based on multiple corroborating sources (confidential informants, Crime Stoppers tip, neighbour complaints), sustained surveillance showing short-duration visits consistent with drug trafficking, observed drug use from tinfoil/pipe, and evidence linking the accused to the residence (use of a key and change of clothes); the arrest was lawful. The brief delay in enabling contact with counsel (approximately 21 minutes from arrival at detachment to counsel cont…

Source excerpt

• Warrantless arrest
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Right to counsel (implementational component)
• Surveillance evidence
• Confidential informant reliability
• Search incidental to arrest

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R. v. Wilson

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court clarified the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act’s scope and the legality of the arrest and search in R. v. Wilson.

• Arbitrary detention
• Search and seizure
• Exclusion of evidence
• Good samaritan drug overdose act
• Warrantless arrest
• Police powers

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R. v. Manuel

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The Supreme Court of British Columbia held that warrantless arrests of Jennifer Lindsay Manuel and Alina May Ortloff were unlawful and violated s. 9 of the Charter.

• Unlawful arrest
• Arbitrary detention
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Warrantless arrest
• Police surveillance
• Disclosure obligations

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R. v. Islam

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed Mr. Islam’s Charter applications, finding his warrantless arrest lawful on reasonable and probable grounds and no breach of s. 10(b).

• Warrantless arrest
• Right to counsel (s.10(b))
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Search incident to arrest
• Confidential informant reliability
• Surveillance operations

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R. v. Cooke

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court upheld a warrantless arrest, rejected a s. 10(b) delay claim, and found a custodial strip search of Mr. Otchere reasonable under s. 8.

• Warrantless arrest
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Right to counsel s.10(b)
• Unreasonable search s.8
• Strip search standards
• Charter remedies s.24

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R. v. Zacharias

Court

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court held that consequential arrests and searches after an unlawful sniffer-dog search were Charter breaches, but the evidence remained admissible under s. 24(2).

• Arbitrary detention
• Exclusion of evidence under s.24(2)
• Sniffer dog search
• Warrantless arrest
• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Search incident to arrest

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R. v. Gallant

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court held the warrantless arrest unlawful for lack of reasonable grounds, which also tainted the vehicle search. It also found breaches of s. 10(b) and s. 8.

• Warrantless arrest
• Search incident to arrest
• Strip search
• Right to counsel (s.10(b))
• Unreasonable search or seizure (s.8)
• Arbitrary detention (s.9)

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R. v. Reid

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The appeal is dismissed because the trial judge did not reverse the burden of proof, provided sufficient reasons applying the Storrey subjective and objective test, the police lawfully relied on recent CI information and surveillance to form reasonable and probable grounds for arrest and search, and the Crown proved possession beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source excerpt

• Reasonable and probable grounds
• Warrantless arrest
• Charter ss.7, ss.8, ss.9
• Confidential informants
• Credibility and concoction
• Possession of firearm

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