The Crown appealed a Court of Appeal decision that excluded a firearm from evidence and entered an acquittal on firearms offences.
The firearm had been discovered during a search incident to arrest for possession of stolen property.
The trial judge found Charter breaches under ss. 8 and 9 but declined to exclude the evidence, holding that police would have had reasonable suspicion to ground a lawful investigative detention and that discoverability mitigated the seriousness of the breaches.
The majority of the Court of Appeal found the trial judge erred in her reasonable suspicion analysis and conducted a fresh s. 24(2) analysis excluding the firearm.
The Supreme Court majority allowed the appeal substantially for the reasons of the dissenting Court of Appeal judge, restoring the conviction.
Moreau J. dissented, agreeing with the Court of Appeal majority that there was no clear nexus between the accused and the possession of stolen property and that the firearm would not have been discoverable absent a lawful detention.
