The applicants, who were charged with child pornography offences following searches of their digital devices at the border, brought a constitutional challenge against s. 99(1)(a) of the Customs Act.
They argued that the provision, which allows customs officers to search imported goods without any legal threshold, violates the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under s. 8 of the Charter when applied to personal digital devices.
The Superior Court of Justice agreed, finding that the profound privacy interests in digital devices require a legal threshold for searches.
The court held that the provision violates s. 8 and is not saved by s. 1, declaring it of no force or effect with respect to digital devices, but suspended the declaration of invalidity.