A mistake made by the federal government several years ago when it updated Canada's drug laws to legalize cannabis has resulted in hundreds of drug lawsuits in Canadian courts. CBC has learned that it may be affected.
Governments and police downplay the potential impact of errors. They claim it does not affect drug investigations and say they are unaware of its impact on court proceedings.
is a regulation designed to protect police officers who are required to commit crimes in the course of an undercover investigation. In the late 1990s, immunity was adopted to protect police from criminal liability when they were required to do things like drug trafficking as part of an investigation.
But when the liberal government updated his Controlled Substances Act in 2017 and legalized cannabis in 2018, it failed to renew those regulations.
As a result, from his 2017 to just a few weeks ago, when the government moved to right wrongs, undercover police officers across Canada faced criminal charges. was not legally protected from Regarding some things that may have been called out as part of the investigation.
In a notice published in the Canada Gazetteon August 3, the government warned that new regulations must be adopted. Crimes committed under these laws.
"Given the lack of exemptions, many criminal investigations involving Canadian citizens or Canadian businesses operating in Canada could not be conducted by the RCMP," the government wrote.
Police activity put on hold due to error
It is because police investigations affected by the oversight "could have occurred in the past. , is not and will not be done”.
The notice said a drug investigation was still underway.
``However, members of covert law enforcement agencies may use items intended to be used to trade in controlled substances (e.g., encrypted mobile phones, cars with hidden compartments, Further investigations are needed because of the potential for criminal liability,” the government wrote.
None, but the quality of available evidence is limited by the inability to use these additional tools that provide the best evidence.”
Suggested to correct mistakes The regulations will also help Canadian police to work with police in other countries that do not face the same restrictions, the government added.
“No Harm” to Lawsuits: Government
According to Statistics Canada, 143,892 people will be prosecuted for various drug-related offenses between 2018 and 2021.
It is not known how many of these incidents may have involved an undercover agent committing a crime during the course of the investigation — affected by government blunders. It is also unclear whether any of these accusations resulted from an undercover operation that took place before the oversight was discovered.
Spokesperson Nic Defalco said the issue was identified "during regular involvement of the Public Prosecutor's Office of Canada (PPSC) in police investigations" and "had no negative impact." about a court drug case.”
PPSC declined to disclose when the error was identified or how it occurred.
Jack Lloyd, an attorney who specializes in drug cases, said the legal community was unaware of the federal government's fault, which he said could affect many of the cases investigated during that period.
"There are hundreds, if not thousands, of cases... dozens of cases," said Lloyd.
Error may lead to lighter sentences: lawyer
Lloyd said the error could complicate the prosecutor's case and would likely be used by defense attorneys to get their clients a better deal.
"This is a very serious issue and they will be motivated to resolve it in a way that all parties can agree on," Mr Lloyd said. And it is of this nature because it may not involve prison and may not involve a criminal record. ''
Eugene Oscapella, a professor and drug law expert at the University of Ottawa, said some defense attorneys used government errors to file lawsuits. He said he might try. out.
"I think some defense attorneys will try to use it to dismiss cases as abuse of procedure. But I don't think they will be very successful." He said. "What happens is.[the judge] may simply send the case back to the court of first instance for rehearing."
Rachel Huggins, Deputy Commissioner of Ontario Police and Co-Chair of the Canadian Police Chiefs Drug Advisory Board, said the federal government's fault was It will have a big impact. This is because investigative techniques that are affected by mistakes are only part of the techniques that are open to the police.
"Police officers have (many) tools and investigative techniques, not just one," she said. "Therefore, the impact of this unintended omission was minimal. In fact, I think it would be beneficial that this omission was recognized and is now being addressed in police enforcement regulations."
RCMP spokesperson Camille Boily-Lavoie said police were "not aware of any prosecutions affected by previous rule language."