Bruce F. Bonney

Police stopped and detained a person matching the description of a recent break-and-enter suspect, conducted a protective pat-down, and then reached into his pocket and found marijuana, leading to a trafficking prosecution.

The Supreme Court recognized a limited common law power of investigative detention where police have reasonable grounds to suspect a connection to a particular crime and detention is reasonably necessary, together with a limited protective pat-down search power grounded in officer safety.

The Court held, however, that the more intrusive pocket search was not justified on the facts and violated s. 8 of the Charter.

Applying the s. 24(2) exclusion analysis, the Court excluded the non-conscriptive evidence because the unjustified search represented a serious breach and admission would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.

The appeal was allowed and the acquittal restored.

The Crown appealed a decision of the Manitoba Court of Appeal regarding the constitutionality of s. 85 of the Criminal Code, which imposes a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence for using a firearm during an indictable offence.

The respondent had committed three armed robberies using a shotgun.

Applying the two-stage test from R. v. Goltz, the Supreme Court of Canada held that s. 85 does not violate s. 12 of the Charter when the underlying offence is robbery.

The appeal was allowed and the trial judge's sentence was restored.