The trial judge excluded all the computer evidence given that the police had conducted
a warrantless search of the work laptop, breaching s. 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the «Charter») which protects an individual's right to be secure from unreasonable search and seizure.
Bizarrely, because a public highway is designated a public
work, police technically would have the right under the statute to conduct a
warrantless search of any person who entered any public highway in Ontario.