Hillary Dudding

The applicant brought a Charter application seeking to exclude firearms and ammunition seized during the execution of a search warrant at his residence.

He alleged breaches of his rights under ss. 7, 8, and 10(b) of the Charter.

The court found the search warrants were valid and the applicant lacked standing to challenge the failure to file a Report to Justice for discarded property.

However, the court found that police used excessive force in breach of s. 7 by deploying a taser on the unarmed applicant and dragging him by his hair.

The court also found a breach of s. 10(b) because police failed to hold off on questioning the applicant before facilitating his right to counsel.

Applying the Grant framework, the court concluded that the admission of the evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute and excluded the firearms and ammunition under s. 24(2).

In a joint trial for firearms and drug trafficking offences associated with a criminal organization, the Crown sought to introduce non-expert recognition evidence from a police officer identifying several non-accused individuals in photographs found on the accused's electronic devices.

The accused objected, arguing the officer lacked sufficient prior acquaintance, the evidence was hearsay, and its prejudicial effect outweighed its probative value.

The court applied the 'prior acquaintance/better position' test and ruled the evidence admissible for seven of the eight individuals, finding the officer had sufficient prior interactions to reliably identify them and that the self-identification fell under a recognized hearsay exception or was admissible for a non-hearsay purpose.