A. Introduction

• Author: Steve Coughlan - Glen Luther
• Profession: Professor, Schulich School of Law, Dalhousie University - Associate Professor, College of Law, Saskatchewan
• Pages: 241-242

Page 241

It is trite to observe that the Charter has had a dramatic impact on criminal law and procedure. Of course, that has been true in the areas of detention and arrest as much as in other areas. In particular, the most relevant rights have been those specified in section 9 and section

10. Section 9 provides that "[e]veryone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned." Section 10 provides that several rights arise when a person is either arrested or detained, the most important of which are "to be informed promptly of the reasons therefor" and "to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right."

It is interesting to note that the impact of the Charter has been different in kind depending on whether one is speaking of detention or arrest. In the case of section 9, Charter caselaw has tended to focus on whether a power to detain exists or not. Indeed, rather paradoxically, court decisions dealing with section 9 have more often than not resulted in an expansion of police powers, rather than...