The Canadian Constitution Foundation appeared as an intervener at the Supreme Court of Canada on February 18, 2024 in the case R v Singer. The case is about the scope of the police powers, and in particular, the power to enter private property without a warrant under a doctrine called the “implied license.”
In this case, police entered the private property of a man without a warrant and collected evidence to subsequently be used in a prosecution against him. The police claimed they were able to do this under a power known as “implied license”. They claimed that this allowed them to enter Mr. Singer’s property, look into his vehicle window, open the vehicle door, and collect evidence.
The CCF will be arguing that the scope of the implied license does not extend so far. The principles at stake in this case go far beyond this specific incident. The power of implied license needs to be clearly and narrowly defined so that police do not use it in a free-wheeling way to enter private property and collect evidence. Police conduct needs to comport with the constitution.
We now await a decision.
Police search powers case (R v. Singer)
CCF Launch: December 18, 2024
Jurisdiction: Supreme Court of Canada
Status: Ongoing
Next Key Date: Awaiting a decision
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