Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Offence

• 486.6 (1) Every person who fails to comply with an order made under any of subsections 486.4(1) to (3) or subsection 486.5(1) or (2) is guilty of an offence punishable on summary conviction.

• Marginal note:Prosecution — limitation

  (1.1) A prosecutor shall not commence or continue a prosecution against a person who is the subject of the order unless, in the opinion of the prosecutor,

  • (a) the person knowingly failed to comply with the order;

  • (b) the privacy interests of another person who is the subject of any order prohibiting the publication in any document or the broadcasting or transmission in any way of information that could identify that person have been compromised; and

  • (c) a warning to the individual is not appropriate.

• Marginal note:Application of order

  (2) For greater certainty, an order referred to in subsection (1) applies to prohibit, in relation to proceedings taken against any person who fails to comply with the order, the publication in any document or the broadcasting or transmission in any way of information that could identify a victim, witness or justice system participant whose identity is protected by the order.

Marginal note:Security of witnesses

• 486.7 (1) In any proceedings against an accused, the presiding judge or justice may, on application of the prosecutor or a witness or on his or her own motion, make any order, other than one that may be made under any of sections 486 to 486.5, if the judge or justice is of the opinion that the order is necessary to protect the security of any witness and is otherwise in the interest of the proper administration of justice.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) The application may be made, during the proceedings, to the presiding judge or justice or, before the proceedings begin, to the judge or justice who will preside at the proceedings or, if that judge or justice has not been determined, to any judge or justice having jurisdiction in the judicial district where the proceedings will take place.

• Marginal note:Factors to be considered

  (3) In determining whether to make the order, the judge or justice shall consider

  • (a) the age of the witness;

  • (b) the witness’s mental or physical disabilities, if any;

  • (c) the right to a fair and public hearing;

  • (d) the nature of the offence;

  • (e) whether the witness needs the order to protect them from intimidation or retaliation;

  • (f) whether the order is needed to protect the security of anyone known to the witness;

  • (g) society’s interest in encouraging the reporting of offences and the participation of victims and witnesses in the criminal justice process;

  • (h) the importance of the witness’s testimony to the case;

  • (i) whether effective alternatives to the making of the proposed order are available in the circumstances;

  • (j) the salutary and deleterious effects of the proposed order; and

  • (k) any other factor that the judge or justice considers relevant.

• Marginal note:No adverse inference

  (4) No adverse inference may be drawn from the fact that an order is, or is not, made under this section.

Marginal note:Information for search warrant

• 487 (1) A justice who is satisfied by information on oath in Form 1 that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is in a building, receptacle or place

  • (a) anything on or in respect of which any offence against this Act or any other Act of Parliament has been or is suspected to have been committed,

  • (b) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence with respect to the commission of an offence, or will reveal the whereabouts of a person who is believed to have committed an offence, against this Act or any other Act of Parliament,

  • (c) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe is intended to be used for the purpose of committing any offence against the person for which a person may be arrested without warrant, or

  • (c.1) any offence-related property,

  may at any time issue a warrant authorizing a peace officer or a public officer who has been appointed or designated to administer or enforce a federal or provincial law and whose duties include the enforcement of this Act or any other Act of Parliament and who is named in the warrant

  • (d) to search the building, receptacle or place for any such thing and to seize it, and

  • (e) subject to any other Act of Parliament, to, as soon as practicable, bring the thing seized before, or make a report in respect of it to, a justice in accordance with section 489.1.

• Marginal note:Execution in Canada

  (2) A warrant issued under subsection (1) may be executed at any place in Canada. A public officer named in the warrant, or any peace officer, who executes the warrant must have authority to act in that capacity in the place where the warrant is executed.

• Marginal note:Operation of computer system and copying equipment

  (2.1) A person authorized under this section to search a computer system in a building or place for data may

  • (a) use or cause to be used any computer system at the building or place to search any data contained in or available to the computer system;

  • (b) reproduce or cause to be reproduced any data in the form of a print-out or other intelligible output;

  • (c) seize the print-out or other output for examination or copying; and

  • (d) use or cause to be used any copying equipment at the place to make copies of the data.

• Marginal note:Duty of person in possession or control

  (2.2) Every person who is in possession or control of any building or place in respect of which a search is carried out under this section shall, on presentation of the warrant, permit the person carrying out the search

  • (a) to use or cause to be used any computer system at the building or place in order to search any data contained in or available to the computer system for data that the person is authorized by this section to search for;

  • (b) to obtain a hard copy of the data and to seize it; and

  • (c) to use or cause to be used any copying equipment at the place to make copies of the data.

• Marginal note:Form

  (3) A search warrant issued under this section may be in the form set out as Form 5 in Part XXVIII, varied to suit the case.

• (4) [Repealed, 2019, c. 25, s. 191]

Marginal note:Information for general warrant

• 487.01 (1) A provincial court judge, a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction or a judge as defined in section 552 may issue a warrant in writing authorizing a peace officer to, subject to this section, use any device or investigative technique or procedure or do any thing described in the warrant that would, if not authorized, constitute an unreasonable search or seizure in respect of a person or a person’s property if

  • (a) the judge is satisfied by information on oath in writing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence against this or any other Act of Parliament has been or will be committed and that information concerning the offence will be obtained through the use of the technique, procedure or device or the doing of the thing;

  • (b) the judge is satisfied that it is in the best interests of the administration of justice to issue the warrant; and

  • (c) there is no other provision in this or any other Act of Parliament that would provide for a warrant, authorization or order permitting the technique, procedure or device to be used or the thing to be done.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed as to permit interference with the bodily integrity of any person.

• Marginal note:Search or seizure to be reasonable

  (3) A warrant issued under subsection (1) shall contain such terms and conditions as the judge considers advisable to ensure that any search or seizure authorized by the warrant is reasonable in the circumstances.

• Marginal note:Video surveillance

  (4) A warrant issued under subsection (1) that authorizes a peace officer to observe, by means of a television camera or other similar electronic device, any person who is engaged in activity in circumstances in which the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy shall contain such terms and conditions as the judge considers advisable to ensure that the privacy of the person or of any other person is respected as much as possible.

• Marginal note:Other provisions to apply

  (5) The definition offence in section 183 and sections 183.1, 184.2, 184.3 and 185 to 188.2, subsection 189(5), and sections 190, 193 and 194 to 196 apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a warrant referred to in subsection (4) as though references in those provisions to interceptions of private communications were read as references to observations by peace officers by means of television cameras or similar electronic devices of activities in circumstances in which persons had reasonable expectations of privacy.

• Marginal note:Notice after covert entry

  (5.1) A warrant issued under subsection (1) that authorizes a peace officer to enter and search a place covertly shall require, as part of the terms and conditions referred to in subsection (3), that notice of the entry and search be given within any time after the execution of the warrant that the judge considers reasonable in the circumstances.

• Marginal note:Extension of period for giving notice

  (5.2) Where the judge who issues a warrant under subsection (1) or any other judge having jurisdiction to issue such a warrant is, on the basis of an affidavit submitted in support of an application to vary the period within which the notice referred to in subsection (5.1) is to be given, is satisfied that the interests of justice warrant the granting of the application, the judge may grant an extension, or a subsequent extension, of the period, but no extension may exceed three years.

• Marginal note:Execution in Canada

  (6) A warrant issued under subsection (1) may be executed at any place in Canada. Any peace officer who executes the warrant must have authority to act as a peace officer in the place where it is executed.

• (7) [Repealed, 2022, c. 17, s. 17]

Marginal note:Definitions

487.011 The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 487.012 to 487.0199.

computer data

computer data has the same meaning as in subsection 342.1(2). (données informatiques)

data

data means representations, including signs, signals or symbols, that are capable of being understood by an individual or processed by a computer system or other device. (données)

document

document means a medium on which data is registered or marked. (document)

judge

judge means a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction or a judge of the Court of Quebec. (juge)

public officer

public officer means a public officer who is appointed or designated to administer or enforce a federal or provincial law and whose duties include the enforcement of this Act or any other Act of Parliament. (fonctionnaire public)

tracking data

tracking data means data that relates to the location of a transaction, individual or thing. (données de localisation)

transmission data

transmission data means data that

• (a) relates to the telecommunication functions of dialling, routing, addressing or signalling;

• (b) is transmitted to identify, activate or configure a device, including a computer program as defined in subsection 342.1(2), in order to establish or maintain access to a telecommunication service for the purpose of enabling a communication, or is generated during the creation, transmission or reception of a communication and identifies or purports to identify the type, direction, date, time, duration, size, origin, destination or termination of the communication; and

• (c) does not reveal the substance, meaning or purpose of the communication. (données de transmission)

Marginal note:Preservation demand

• 487.012 (1) A peace officer or public officer may make a demand to a person in Form 5.001 requiring them to preserve computer data that is in their possession or control when the demand is made.

• Marginal note:Conditions for making demand

  (2) The peace officer or public officer may make the demand only if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that

  • (a) an offence has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament or has been committed under a law of a foreign state;

  • (b) in the case of an offence committed under a law of a foreign state, an investigation is being conducted by a person or authority with responsibility in that state for the investigation of such offences; and

  • (c) the computer data is in the person’s possession or control and will assist in the investigation of the offence.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (3) A demand may not be made to a person who is under investigation for the offence referred to in paragraph (2)(a).

• Marginal note:Expiry and revocation of demand

  (4) A peace officer or public officer may revoke the demand by notice given to the person at any time. Unless the demand is revoked earlier, the demand expires

  • (a) in the case of an offence that has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament, 21 days after the day on which it is made; and

  • (b) in the case of an offence committed under a law of a foreign state, 90 days after the day on which it is made.

• Marginal note:Conditions in demand

  (5) The peace officer or public officer who makes the demand may impose any conditions in the demand that they consider appropriate  — including conditions prohibiting the disclosure of its existence or some or all of its contents  — and may revoke a condition at any time by notice given to the person.

• Marginal note:No further demand

  (6) A peace officer or public officer may not make another demand requiring the person to preserve the same computer data in connection with the investigation.