K. Flanagan

The applicant, a victim of and witness to a shooting, brought an application to quash a search warrant and an assistance order for her cell phone.

The police had seized the phone during a lawful search of her vehicle and subsequently obtained a warrant to search the phone's contents, along with an assistance order compelling her to provide the password.

The applicant argued the seizure was unlawful, the warrant lacked grounds, and the assistance order violated her section 7 Charter right to silence.

The Superior Court of Justice dismissed the application, finding the initial seizure lawful, the search warrant validly issued with sufficient grounds, and the assistance order constitutional as the applicant was not an accused or suspect.

The accused, a Taekwondo coach charged with sexual assault, applied for the production of interview recordings and notes held by the CBC involving one of the complainants.

The court determined that the common law O'Connor regime applied rather than the Criminal Code s. 278.1 regime, as the complainant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in statements made for a television documentary.

Balancing the accused's right to make full answer and defence against the media's freedom of the press under the Vice Media framework, the court ordered the CBC to produce limited, highly relevant excerpts of the interviews and notes.

The accused, charged with sexual assault, brought a motion for disclosure of communications between the complainant and the CBC regarding a proposed documentary.

The Crown and third parties argued the communications were protected under s. 278 of the Criminal Code due to a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The court found that while there was a subjective expectation of privacy, the communications regarding the scope and terms of the CBC interviews were directly relevant to the defence's O'Connor application.

The court ordered the disclosure of relevant emails and texts, excising irrelevant personal details.