Ottawa, ON / unceded Anishinabe Algonquin Territory – The BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) is disappointed by the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision to allow the Crown’s appeal in R v Singer. The decision found that the police can enter a private property without a warrant to investigate a drinking and driving offence based on the “implied license to knock” doctrine, a common-law principle that permits members of the public, such as mail carriers or friendly neighbours, to knock on your door without fear of legal repercussions. 

The majority of the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the police were free to enter the driveway of a suspected drunk driver, Mr. Singer, under the “implied license to knock” doctrine after receiving a witness report. The majority of the court found that, while the police had conducted an unlawful search when they opened Mr. Singer’s truck door without reasonable grounds, the evidence they collected should still be allowed because of the public’s strong interest in the proper investigation of drinking and driving offences. For this reason, they reinstated a conviction that had been overturned by the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal based on Mr. Singer’s s. 8 Charter right to be free from unreasonable searches.

The Crown had also asked the Court to recognize a new common law police power to enter private property to investigate drinking and driving offences. This request was rejected by all members of the Court. In dissenting reasons, Justice Martin provided important guidance that would limit the expansion of police powers by the courts.

BCCLA intervened in this case to argue that it must be a bright-line rule that agents of the state cannot trespass on someone’s property to investigate them for a crime. There is no need to expand police powers in this area, and doing so would disproportionately impact marginalized communities. We are disappointed that the “implied license to knock” has been expanded in a way that reduces an individual’s privacy rights on their own property. At the same time, we welcome Justice Martin’s comments about common law police powers, which we hope will serve as a bulwark against the unnecessary intrusion by the police into the lives of people in Canada.

Vibert Jack, Litigation Director for BCCLA, says:  

“We must reject the idea that sacrificing our civil liberties is a solution to public safety concerns. Giving police unnecessary powers does nothing to make anyone safer, but instead poses a threat to communities that are already heavily policed.”

BCCLA was represented by Nikolas De Stefano and Samara Secter of Addario Law Group LLP.