By Canadian Press

Supreme Court restores driver’s conviction despite police violation of Charter right

Mar 23, 2023 | 8:38 AM

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has restored the conviction of an Ontario driver who had been drinking even though police made an unauthorized stop on a private driveway.

In a unanimous ruling today, the top court says that given the circumstances, the evidence obtained from the unlawful police stop should not have been excluded by an appeal judge.

Police were patrolling near Ontario’s Thessalon First Nation on Lake Huron after midnight in March 2016 when they noticed an all-terrain vehicle about to leave a parking lot outside a convenience store.

The officers decided to conduct a sobriety check of the driver, Walker McColman, and followed his vehicle down a road and onto the private drive of his parents.

Upon approaching McColman, an officer noticed signs of intoxication and arrested him.

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McColman was handed a 12-month driving prohibition and $1,000 fine, but an appeal judge found the stop to be unlawful, breaching his Charter right not to be arbitrarily detained.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 23, 2023.

The Canadian Press