The defendant, Gerard Gopaul, faced charges of impaired operation, 80 plus operation, taking a motor vehicle without owner's consent, and possession of cocaine.
The court addressed several Charter applications, finding violations of sections 8 (unlawful strip search, lost video evidence) and 10(a) and (b) (failure to advise of drug jeopardy, insufficient steps for counsel of choice).
Applying the R. v. Grant test, the court excluded the cocaine and breath test evidence due to the seriousness and cumulative impact of the Charter breaches.
Consequently, the defendant was found guilty of taking a motor vehicle without consent and impaired operation, but the charges related to cocaine and 80 plus operation were effectively dismissed due to the exclusion of evidence.
