Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms holds Police Accountable

In the course of their investigations, police can make mistakes with sometimes unintentional but nevertheless damaging consequences for affected citizens, who typically swallow the damages in impotent frustration. Well, no more. The Supreme Court of Canada has offered a remedy to that impotence in a ruling that empowers citizens and should have a deterrent effect on police who might be overzealous even while properly acting within their authority.


The ruling flowed from a case of mistaken identity. In August 2002, police in Vancouver were alerted that a white male with short, dark hair and wearing a white golf shirt with some red on it might be planning to throw a pie at then prime minister Jean Chrétien.

Police spotted a white male, mid-forties, with long, grey hair and wearing a grey T-shirt with some red on it. He was running. Police gave chase, caught Alan Cameron Ward, handcuffed him over his protests, took him into custody, had him strip searched and attempted to impound his car. Seven hours later he was released for lack of any evidence. They had the wrong man.

Mr. Ward, a lawyer, sued. On Friday, nearly six years later, the Supreme Court upheld earlier court findings and declared that, while the police had not acted in bad faith and could not, therefore, be liable for civil damages, it was "just and appropriate" that Mr. Ward be awarded $5,000 in damages because strip searches are "inherently humiliating and degrading" and that, in this case, the search was "unnecessary and violative."

While the Charter of Rights and Freedoms has since 1988 guaranteed that Canadians can seek damages if their rights are violated -- in this case the right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure -- the issue had not been closely examined until now, Madame Chief Justice Beverley McLaughlin noted in the ruling.

Canadians should be grateful for the clarification, and for Mr. Ward's principles and tenacity.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 26, 2010 A12