Exclusion of evidence under s. 24(2) Charter still governed by Collins?

Some commentators suggest that the decision in R. v. Grant, 2009 SCC 32 changed the test for exclusion of evidence under s. 24(2) of the Charter set out in  R. v. Collins, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 256.  Today’s Supreme Court of Canada decision in R. v. Beaulieu, 2010 SCC 7 suggests that the test has not changed and a proper decision applying Collins will survive a Grant analysis.  The Court states:

 

 

[6]                              Neither the trial judge nor the Court of Appeal had the benefit of this Court’s decision in Grant which established a new three-part inquiry for determining whether the admission of evidence would bring the administration of justice into disrepute:  (1) the seriousness of the Charter-infringing state conduct; (2) the impact of the breach on the Charter-protected interests of the accused; and (3) society’s interest in the adjudication of the case on its merits.  The application of the Grant approach does not affect the outcome of the s. 24(2) determination in the case at bar.

 

 

 

[7]                              First, as this Court noted in Grant, the relevant factors have not changed: “These concerns, while not precisely tracking the categories of considerations set out in Collins, capture the factors relevant to the s. 24(2) determination as enunciated in Collins and subsequent jurisprudence” (para. 71, referencing R. v. Collins, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 256).