The Crown appealed the acquittal of a youth charged with drug possession for the purpose of trafficking.
Police officers conducted a random, warrantless search of a high school using a sniffer dog, which reacted to the youth's unattended backpack in the gymnasium.
The police searched the backpack and found marijuana and psilocybin.
The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the dog sniff and subsequent physical search violated the youth's section 8 Charter rights, as students have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their backpacks and the search was not authorized by law or conducted reasonably.
The court affirmed the exclusion of the evidence under section 24(2) of the Charter, dismissing the appeal.
