Do Government Officials Have Benefit of the Defence of Officially-Induced Error?


The defence of officially induced error of law is intended to protect a diligent person who first questions a government authority about the interpretation of legislation so as to be sure to comply with it and then is prosecuted by the same government for acting in accordance with the interpretation the authority gave him or her. 

 The conditions under which this defence is available are well-established.

See Lévis (City) v. Tétreault, 2006 SCC 12, [2006] 1 S.C.R. 420.
Whether a government official can use the defence of officially induced error of law in relation to the performance of his/her duties remains an open question; however, the Supreme Court of Canada, in obiter, expressed “serious reservations” about allowing the defence to extend to government actors.

R. v. Bédard, 2017 SCC 4

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