Does an Individual have a Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in his/her Municipal Address?
Section 8 of the Charter guarantees “the right to be
secure against unreasonable search or seizure.” This right contains internal limits:
its scope is limited to circumstances in which there is a reasonable
expectation of privacy.
Hunter v. Southam,
1984 CanLII 33
(SCC), [1984]
2 S.C.R. 145, at p. 159.
The factors that inform the analysis of whether there
is a reasonable expectation of privacy have been grouped under four broad
headings:
(1) the subject matter
of the alleged search;
(2) the claimant’s
interest in the subject matter;
(3) the claimant’s
subjective expectation of privacy in the subject matter; and
(4) whether this
subjective expectation of privacy was objectively reasonable, having regard to
the totality of the circumstances:
R. v. Spencer,
2014 SCC 43 (CanLII), [2014] 2 S.C.R. 212,
at para. 18.
In the informational context, s.8 of the Charter
protects “a biographical core” of personal information that “tends to reveal
intimate details of the lifestyle and personal choices of the individual”.
R. v. Plant,
1993 CanLII 70
(SCC), [1993]
3 S.C.R. 281, at pp. 292,
293.
In assessing whether an individual has a reasonable
expectation of privacy it is necessary to look not only at
the immediate information sought by the police, but the further information
that it ultimately reveals.
Spencer,
at para 31.
A physical address does not, of itself, reveal
intimate details about one’s personal choices or way of life, and, ordinarily,
it is publicly available information to which many people have access.
R.
v. Saciragic, 2017 ONCA 91, at para 32
An individual residing in a multi-unit dwelling with
common areas and video surveillance does not typically possess a reasonable
expectation that his comings and goings will not be observed by others or
recorded digitally, or that these observations will not be divulged to police.
R.
v. Saciragic, 2017 ONCA 91, at para 33
See however R. v. White, [2015] O.J. No. 3563, 2015 ONCA 508 (CanLII), at para 52: a resident has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the common areas of his/her condominium building.
See however R. v. White, [2015] O.J. No. 3563, 2015 ONCA 508 (CanLII), at para 52: a resident has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the common areas of his/her condominium building.
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