David G. Frayer

Appeal concerning the constitutionality of the federal prisoner voting ban applicable to persons incarcerated in a correctional institution serving sentences of two years or more.

The majority held that the impugned provision infringed the s. 3 Charter right to vote and failed the Oakes proportionality analysis because the government did not establish a rational connection, minimal impairment, or overall proportionality between disenfranchisement and its stated objectives of promoting civic responsibility and enhancing punishment.

The Court emphasized the fundamental nature of voting rights in a constitutional democracy and rejected deference where legislation limits core democratic participation.

The provision was declared of no force or effect under s. 52 of the Constitution Act, 1982.

The appellant was arrested for possession of narcotics.

Hours later, an RCMP officer conducted a warrantless inventory search of the appellant's impounded car pursuant to police policy, discovering cash and cocaine.

The Supreme Court of Canada held that the search violated section 8 of the Charter because an inventory search is not a valid objective of the common law power of search incident to arrest, and thus the search was not authorized by law.

However, applying the Collins test under section 24(2) of the Charter, the Court concluded that the non-conscriptive evidence should not be excluded, as the breach was not serious and exclusion would have a more detrimental impact on the administration of justice.