Canada Case Law

R. v. Maric

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

The Court upheld the application judge's factual findings and discretionary rulings: the issuing justices had a basis to authorize the initial wiretap and the reauthorization (including reasonable identification of 'Marco'); errors in ITOs were good-faith and properly amplified rather than excised; appellants lacked standing or an objectively reasonable expectation of privacy in several contested locations; lost third-party surveillance video did not establish an unacceptable breach of disclosure or s.7 rights; accordingly the appeals were dismissed and the contested evidence admissible.

Source excerpt

• S.8 charter reasonable expectation of privacy
• S.24(2) exclusionary remedy (grant test)
• Part vi wiretap authorizations
• General warrant and tracking warrant validity
• Confidential informant reliability and corroboration
• Standing and third-party/excision (chang)

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R. v. Boudreau

Court

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

Viewed as a whole and on the revised vetted record, the issuing Justice of the Peace could have reasonably concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe a drug offence had been or would be committed and that tracking Mr. Boudreau’s mobile device would assist the investigation; omissions and inconsistencies in the ITO did not amount to egregious bad faith warranting setting aside the tracking warrant, so the application to quash the warrant was dismissed.

Source excerpt

• Section 8 charter - unreasonable search and seizure
• Section 24(2) charter - exclusion of evidence
• Judicial authorization - tracking warrant s.492.1(2)
• Confidential informant reliability and corroboration
• Duty of full and frank disclosure

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R. v. Latimer

Court

Supreme Court of British Columbia

The court dismissed a facial validity challenge to a production order for jail call records, finding the ITO supported reasonable grounds and the order was not overbroad.

• Facial validity of information to obtain
• Production order for jail call records
• Confidential informant reliability and corroboration
• Tower-dump / call detail records
• Minimal intrusion/incrementalism under s.8
• Reasonable grounds standard

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R. v. Dhillon

Court

Court of Appeal for Ontario

On the totality of the circumstances the confidential informant information, although of limited independent credibility, was moderately compelling and corroborated by police surveillance observations; therefore the arresting officer had both subjective and objectively justifiable reasonable and probable grounds and there was no s.9 Charter breach, so the Court of Appeal allowed the Crown's appeal and set aside the acquittals.

Source excerpt

• Charter s.9 arbitrary detention
• Reasonable and probable grounds to arrest
• Confidential informant reliability and corroboration
• Search and seizure
• Exclusion of evidence under s.24(2)

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R. v. Sparks

Court

Supreme Court of Nova Scotia

On a common-sense assessment of the totality of the ITO, including multiple repeatedly reliable informants, corroborating surveillance and contextual indicia of ongoing street‑level trafficking, a justice of the peace could reasonably have concluded there were reasonable grounds to issue the warrant; accordingly the warrant was valid and, alternatively, even if a Charter breach occurred the s.24(2) Grant factors support admission of the seized evidence.

Source excerpt

• Information to obtain (ito) / search warrant sufficiency
• Confidential informant reliability and corroboration
• Staleness of information
• S.24(2) exclusion analysis
• Reasonable grounds / probable cause

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