This book provides a framework for answering two questions. First, it looks at what constitutes an unreasonable search or seizure under section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees that everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. Second, it examines what the appropriate legal and evidentiary consequences are when an unreasonable search or seizure occurs.
The book delivers a problem-solving approach, applicable to every question of reasonableness, by identifying the general rules that apply to all searches and then identifying the exceptions to the general rule and the rationale for those exceptions (to assist the reader in understanding how to carve out new exceptions or show analogous concerns for maintaining the status quo). Each chapter of the book addresses a different topic essential to understanding the protections guaranteed by section 8 and how to establish a breach of those protections.