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Evidence admissible in drug case despite Charter concerns, Supreme Court rules

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a man’s drug-related conviction, saying evidence in his case is admissible despite concerns about violation of his Charter rights.

In February 2017 near Banff, Alta., a police officer pulled over George Zacharias’s truck because the windows were illegally tinted and a light wasn’t working.

The officer, upon suspecting illicit drug activity, called in backup support and a sniffer dog.

A search of the truck turned up a large amount of cannabis and Zacharias was arrested for possession for the purpose of trafficking.

Zacharias alleged that police had breached his Charter rights to be protected from unreasonable search and seizure and arbitrary detention.

But the trial judge admitted the evidence on grounds that excluding it would bring the administration of justice into disrepute.