Case in Brief

A Case in Brief is a short summary of a written decision of the Court, drafted in plain language. These summaries are prepared by staff of the Supreme Court of Canada. They do not form part of the Court’s reasons for judgment and are not for use in legal proceedings.

R. v. Wilson

Case summary

The Supreme Court of Canada rules that people who stay at the scene of an overdose cannot be arrested for simple possession of drugs.

The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act was passed by Parliament in 2017 to save lives by encouraging people to call 9-1-1 or stay to help when someone overdoses. It added section 4.1(2) to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, which states that people who seek emergency help or remain at the scene of an overdose cannot be charged with or convicted of possession of drugs if the evidence of that offence is found because they called for help or stayed at the scene.

In this case, Mr. Wilson stayed at the scene of an overdose after emergency services arrived. Police arrested him for possession of drugs and, during a search, found evidence of other offences, including firearms offences and identity-related crimes. Mr. Wilson argued that his arrest was unlawful because section 4.1(2) gave him immunity not only from being charged with or convicted of the offence of possession, but also from arrest for possession. He said the arrest and search violated his rights under sections 8 and 9 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which protect against unreasonable search or seizure, and against being detained or arrested without a valid legal reason.

The trial judge rejected these arguments and convicted Mr. Wilson of most of the firearms offences and of one identity-related offence. The Court of Appeal disagreed, ruling that Parliament intended the Good Samaritan protection to include immunity from arrest. It set aside the convictions and found Mr. Wilson not guilty on all charges. The Crown appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.

The Good Samaritan protection includes immunity from arrest.

Writing for a majority, Justice Karakatsanis explained that the goal of section 4.1(2) is to save lives by removing the fear of legal consequences when someone seeks help during an overdose. Allowing police to arrest people for simple possession, when they are seeking emergency help or remaining at the scene of an overdose, would undermine that goal and discourage calls for emergency assistance.

Justice Karakatsanis concluded that immunity from arrest is part of the immunity from charge or conviction. Arresting a person who stays to help at an overdose violates section 9 of the Charter. Because Mr. Wilson’s arrest was unlawful, the search that followed the arrest was also unlawful and violated section 8 of the Charter. The evidence collected from the search therefore had to be excluded. The Court of Appeal was right to acquit Mr. Wilson.