Canada. Human rights / constitutional. Constitutional provision
Charter s.8Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 8 (unreasonable search or seizure)
In force
Partly verified
Medium confidence.Case citations from general knowledge; not re-verified in this pass.
§1Summary
- Synopsis
Guarantees everyone the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure, protecting a reasonable expectation of privacy against state intrusion. Courts have applied it to subscriber data, IP addresses and digital devices.
- Key themes
- Unique features
Supreme Court has held that IP addresses and basic subscriber information attract a reasonable expectation of privacy, so police generally need judicial authorisation to obtain them from providers.
- SaaS relevance
Shapes when Canadian law enforcement may lawfully demand customer data from SaaS providers without a warrant.
§2Obligations
- Extraterritorial
- No
§3Dates
- Key dates
- Adopted
- In force
- Key cases: Hunter v Southam (1984), R v Spencer (2014, subscriber info), R v Bykovets (2024, IP addresses)
§4Text and authority
- Text
- Authoritative text laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
- Authority
- Courts
§5Where it applies
- Domestic law of
- Canada
- Also applies in
§6Sources and verification
- Sources consulted
- Verification
Medium confidence.
Partly verified
Medium confidence.Case citations from general knowledge; not re-verified in this pass.