This ruling addresses a Charter application under s. 10(b) and s. 24(2) by two accused seeking to exclude evidence (a firearm and drugs) due to alleged breaches of their right to counsel.
The Crown conceded a s. 10(b) breach occurred due to a communication breakdown between police forces, resulting in a delay of 1 hour 15 minutes for one applicant and 1 hour 45 minutes for the other to speak with counsel.
The court found the Toronto Police Service acted professionally, but the Durham Regional Police Service failed in their duty to facilitate access to counsel at the booking stage.
Applying the R. v. Grant factors, the court characterized the breach as serious but not systemic, found the impact on the applicants moderate, and society's interest in adjudication on the merits high given the serious nature of the charges (firearm and large quantity of drugs).
The application for exclusion of evidence was dismissed.
