Canada: Criminal Law

In R v. Hardenstine, 2025 BCSC 889 [Hardenstine], the BC Supreme Court excluded evidence seized by police following a police traffic stop, arrest, and use of force which the Court found were violations of the accused’s Charter rights.

In the early hours of October 6, 2024, police officers drove into the parking lot of a strip club in Brampton and approached a group of men standing outside. Following a conversation with the accused and another individual, a struggle ensued between the police and the accused as he tried to run away.

A retired judge has ruled that police officers who testified at a coroner's inquest into Myles Gray's 2015 death can have their inquest testimony used to challenge their credibility in subsequent Police Act misconduct proceedings. This preliminary decision creates tension between statutory protections designed to encourage full testimony at inquests and the public interest in holding officers accountable for alleged misconduct, potentially impacting officers' willingness to testify at future inquests.