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On February 18, 2021, the Honourable David Lametti, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, introduced proposed amendments to the Criminal Code and to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. The purpose of the Bill is to decrease the representation of...
In a recent decision from Saskatchewan, a driver has been acquitted of impaired by drug despite the evidence of a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). The expert had relied on the following evidence in forming his opinion: • Reddish face; • Cannabis on his...
In order to search your house with a warrant, the police need to swear an affidavit (known as an ITO) to get authorization from a judicial officer. The ITO sets out the reasons, and the supporting evidence, why the police believe there will be evidence, such as...
You've been charged with a criminal offence, such as conspiracy to traffic cocaine. The police used an agent and a wiretap to gather incriminating evidence against you. In doing so, they breached your Charter rights. The presiding judge rules that the wiretaps should...
"Dynamic Entires" are a tactic commonly used by the police in drug investigations. Although they thought they could, it turns out the police cannot just have a policy of bashing in your door and throwing a "distraction device" into your front entrance way scaring the...
Lorsque le gouvernement libéral a décidé de légaliser la marijuana, le gouvernement a aussi clairement indiqué qu'il apporterait également des modifications aux lois sur la conduite avec facultés affaiblies par la drogue. Ces changements sont entrés en vigueur le 17...
When the Liberal government decided to move toward the legalization of marijuana, it made clear that it would also be making changes to Canada's impaired by drug driving laws. Those change came into effect on October 17, 2018. The most significant changes fall into...
When you cross the border into Canada from the USA, you are subjected to a search, where there is a lower expectation of privacy than you would otherwise have. A recent decision of the Ontario Superior Court considered the use of both detector dogs and ion scanners at...
A recent Ontario Superior Court decision, R v Boekdrukker, addressed this issue. The Court examined both what is required in the Criminal Code as well as what is required under the common law. Section 29(1) of the Criminal Code states that: "It is the duty of every...
The Supreme Court recently ruled in the case of R v Paterson, 2017 SCC 15, that police cannot search your home without a warrant simply because it would be impractical to obtain one. Warrantless entries must be compelled by urgency, immediate police action to preserve...
