The applicant, Rodney Helmer, sought to quash a search warrant and exclude evidence seized from his residence under ss. 8 and 24(2) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The search warrant was based on an Information to Obtain (ITO) that relied on information from four confidential informants (CIs) and police surveillance, alleging cocaine trafficking.
The court conducted a Garofoli review, assessing the compelling nature, credibility, and corroboration of the CI information using the Debot criteria.
Despite some deficiencies in the ITO, including misleading characterizations and omissions, the court found the totality of the information, as modified on review, sufficiently reliable to establish reasonable and probable grounds for the warrant.
The application was dismissed, as no Charter breach was found.
