Nicole DeBellefeuille

The accused was charged with drug and firearms offences after police executed a search warrant at a residence.

During the search, police found drugs and cash, and subsequently questioned the accused without providing rights to counsel or a caution, eliciting statements about vehicle keys.

The police used these statements to seize the keys and search two vehicles, locating firearms.

The court found egregious violations of the accused's ss. 8 and 10(b) Charter rights, noting that senior officers acted carelessly, showed blatant disregard for Charter rights, and misled the court.

Applying the Grant framework, the court excluded the firearms evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter.

During a trial for first degree murder and attempted murder, a Crown witness recanted her previous statements and testified in chief that a third party named 'George' was with her at the time of the shooting, rather than the accused.

The Crown requested a ruling that the defence must bring a formal third party suspect application before cross-examining the witness on this issue.

The court ruled that no application was required, as the evidence was direct evidence of a third party suspect that had already been elicited by the Crown, establishing its own logical relevance without the need for a formal application.