Can the Police Set Up Video Cameras in the Common Areas of Multi-Unit Dwellings without  Prior Judicial Authorization?


Video Installation in the Hallway of a Condominium
R. v. White, [2015] O.J. No. 3563, 2015 ONCA 508 (CanLII) clarifies that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy for a tenant or owner related to common areas of a multi-unit building. That privacy interest is obviously less than that related to the interior of a living unit.

In R. v Phan, 2017 ONSC 978 (CanLII), police installed a video camera in the hallway outside the condominium unit where the accused lived.  While the police had obtained judicial orders authorizing various types of searches in respect of the accused (eg. a Part VI intercept, and a tracking device warrant), the installation of the camera had not been specifically authorized.

The hallway camera did not capture the front of the applicant’s door, let alone the interior of the unit. Nonetheless, the Court held that it constituted an unauthorized search in violation of section 8 of the Charter.

 An application of the principles in R. v. Grant, 2009 SCC 32 (CanLII), 2009 S.C.J. No. 32, however, militated against exclusion of the evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter.




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