POLICE CAN BE SUED FOR NEGLIGENT INVESTIGATION - SUPREME COURT OF CANADA

The Supreme Court of Canada has held that the police can be liable for negligent investigation. Prior to this decision, a number of jurisdictions in Canada had not recognized such a cause of action.

After having been jailed 20 months because of a wrongful conviction for robbery, George Hill, a Hamilton man, complained that the police handling of his case had been negligent. While the Court held that the police had not been negligent in this case, the judges declared that there could be a valid cause of action for negligent investigation. Rejecting the argument that such a liability would create a "chilling effect" on policing, the Court agreed with CCLA that this argument is largely overblown because police officers, like other professionals, are usually insured against personal liability. The judges also commented that, if one effect of this decision is to make the police more careful in conducting their investigations, "this is not necessarily a bad thing." CCLA was represented in the case by Special Counsel Bradley Berg and Allison Thornton of Blake, Cassels, and Graydon.