CCLA URGES SPECIAL SAFEGUARDS DURING “INVESTIGATIVE DETENTIONS”

Appearing in the Supreme Court of Canada during April, CCLA Special Counsel Christopher Wayland and Alexi Wood (McCarthy Tétrault) effectively told the judges that, even during a relatively short investigative detention, there is no need to choose between all of the safeguards required in an arrest situation or none of them. In the case at issue, the Ontario Court of Appeal appears to have allowed police officers to detain people for investigative purposes without informing them that they are being detained and without advising them of their right to silence or to counsel.

According to Wayland and Wood, such a situation can create too great a risk of abuse. But the CCLA counsel also acknowledged that, during the shorter life of an investigative detention, the normal safeguards might be somewhat abbreviated. They therefore urged a compromise position that preserved some of the usual custodial rights, while accommodating the need for something less elaborate. The court has reserved judgment. [R. v. Suberu]