The appellant challenged the seizure of marijuana from a rented and locked bus depot locker after private security guards opened the locker and police later seized the contents without a warrant.
The Court held that the appellant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the locker, that the Charter did not apply to the initial search by private security because the guards were not state agents, and that the subsequent warrantless police search and seizure violated s. 8 of the Charter.
Applying the Collins framework under s. 24(2), the Court deferred to the trial judge’s assessment that the breach was serious, particularly given the police officers’ casual disregard of the warrant requirement and the absence of urgency.
The evidence was properly excluded and the acquittal was restored.
