On June 1, 2017, police in Oakville, Ontario responded to a report about a man hitting a woman in a car. The man was later identified as Matthew Stairs. Police found the car parked in the driveway with no one inside, so they knocked on the front door of the house. When no one answered, the officers entered through a side door. Inside, they found a woman with a bruised face. They found and arrested Mr. Stairs in the basement. Police then looked around the basement living room and found drugs (methamphetamine).
Mr. Stairs was charged with possession of drugs for the purpose of trafficking, and with assault and breach of probation. At trial, Mr. Stairs argued that police were not allowed to search his home and therefore that the drug evidence could not be used against him. He invoked section 8 of the Charter, which protects people from “unreasonable search or seizure”. Police testified they searched the basement living room to address their safety concerns.
Mr. Stairs was convicted of all charges. He appealed his drug conviction to Ontario’s Court of Appeal, which found the police search had not violated his section 8 Charter right. He then appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal.
