R. v. Inuvik Coastal Airways Ltd. and McKerral, (1983) 51 A.R. 169 (NWTSC)

• Judge: de Weerdt, J.
• Court: Supreme Court of Northwest Territories (Canada)
• Case Date: November 28, 1983
• Jurisdiction: Northwest Territories
• Citations: (1983), 51 A.R. 169 (NWTSC)

R. v. Inuvik Coastal Airways Ltd. (1983), 51 A.R. 169 (NWTSC)

MLB headnote and full text

R. v. Inuvik Coastal Airways Ltd. and McKerral

(No. SC 2686)

Indexed As: R. v. Inuvik Coastal Airways Ltd. and McKerral

Northwest Territories Supreme Court

de Weerdt, J.

November 29, 1983.

Summary:

The accused company was charged with attempting to commit a fraud on a third party. The accused applied under s. 24 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to have documents obtained under an invalid search warrant excluded from evidence.

The Northwest Territories Supreme Court dismissed the application and held that the documents were admissible.

Civil Rights - Topic 1217

Security of the person - Lawful or reasonable search - Unreasonable search and seizure - What constitutes - Policemen, acting in good faith, obtained an accused company's documents under an invalid search warrant - The documents were voluntarily given to the police by a company employee in circumstances clearly showing that the requirement of a search warrant was waived - The Northwest Territories Supreme Court refused to exclude the documents from evidence under s. 24 of the Charter, because there was no "seizure" within the meaning of s. 8 of the Charter - See paragraph 34.

Civil Rights - Topic 8304

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Application of - General - Before the Charter came into force, police obtained documents pursuant to an invalid search warrant - The accused applied to exclude the documents from evidence under s. 24 of the Charter - The Northwest Territories Supreme Court held that s. 24 applied, notwithstanding that the protection against unreasonable search and seizure under s. 8 of the Charter was not retrospective, because the documents were still retained by the police after the Charter became law - See paragraphs 14 to 16, 27 to 37.

Civil Rights - Topic 8368

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - Denial of rights - Remedies - Exclusion of evidence - The Northwest Territories Supreme Court refused to exclude evidence obtained pursuant to an invalid search warrant where the evidence was voluntarily given to the police under circumstances showing that the person giving the evidence waived the requirement of a search warrant - See paragraphs 27 to 37.

Criminal Law - Topic 3098

Special powers - Search warrants - Issue of - Contents of search warrants - The Northwest Territories Supreme Court held that a search warrant which did not set out the offence in respect of which the search was to be made was invalid - See paragraphs 6 to 10.

Evidence - Topic 7534

Competency of evidence - Illegally obtained evidence - Exclusion of - Disrepute of administration of justice - Policemen, acting in good faith, obtained an accused company's documents pursuant to an invalid search warrant - The documents were voluntarily given by a company employee under circumstances showing that the requirement of a search warrant was waived - The Northwest Territories Supreme Court refused to exclude the documents from evidence under s. 24 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, because, inter alia, the admission of the documents would not bring the administration of justice into disrepute - See paragraphs 27 to 37.

Statutes - Topic 1801

Interpretation - Intrinsic aids - Bilingual statutes - Reference to French language - The Northwest Territories Supreme Court referred to both the English and the French versions of s. 24 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in construing the section - See paragraph 28.

Cases Noticed:

Re McAvoy (1970), 12 C.R.N.S. 56; 74 W.W.R.(N.S.) 688 (N.W.T.S.C.), folld. [para. 9].

Re Adler and The Queen, [1977] 5 W.W.R. 132; 37 C.C.C.(2d) 234 (Alta. S.C.T.D.), refd to. [para. 10].

Psi Mind Development Institute Ltd. et al. and The Queen (1977), 37 C.C.C. (2d) 263 (Ont. H.C.), refd to. [para. 10].

Re Lubell and The Queen (1973), 11 C.C.C.(2d) 188 (Ont. H.C.), refd to. [para. 10].

R. v. Longtin, 10 W.C.B. 94 (Ont. C.A.), folld. [para. 15].

R. v. Davidson (1982), 40 N.B.R.(2d); 105 A.P.R. 702 (N.B.Q.B.), refd to. [para. 16].

R. v. Lajoie (1984), 50 A.R. 140, dist. [para. 28].

Statutes Noticed:

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, 1982, sect. 8 [para. 14]; sect. 24 [para. 2].

Criminal Code of Canada, R.S.C. 1970, c. C-34, sect. 443(3) [para. 10]; sect. 773 [para. 7]; Form V [para. 7].

Counsel:

C. Evans, for the applicants;

B. Fontaine, for the respondent.

This application was heard on November 28, 1983, at Inuvik, Northwest Territories, before de Weerdt, J., of the Northwest Territories Supreme Court, who delivered the following judgment on November 29, 1983: