The CCLA will appear as an intervenor before the Supreme Court of Canada today in R. v. Chemlal. This appeal concerns the legal threshold police must satisfy to conduct a safety search when someone is not under arrest or detained. A safety search is a limited pat-down search of a person intended to address a risk to officer or public safety.
A central issue is whether an officer must have reasonable grounds to suspect, or reasonable grounds to believe, that a safety risk justifies the search. Reasonable grounds to believe is a higher standard.
The CCLA will make three submissions:
- People who are not under arrest have a strong expectation of privacy in their bodies and personal belongings. Safety searches in these circumstances must remain exceptional.
- The standard for a safety search is reasonable grounds to believe that the person poses an imminent risk to the safety of police or the public.
- An imminent risk exists where there are reasonable grounds to believe that the person has a weapon and presents a realistic risk of harming, or attempting to harm, another person.
The CCLA’s factum can be read here.
The CCLA is grateful to Carter Martell of Martell Defence for their excellent pro bono representation in this case, and to Catherine Ouellet of Gowling WLG for their pro bono agent services.
