Charter Breach Decision Upheld

In R. v. He, 2012 BCCA 318, the British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal from an order upholding the acquittal of the Respondents on charges of tax evasion, altering or destroying tax records and making false or deceptive statements contrary to the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act. The Court agreed that the Canadian Revenue Agency conducted an unauthorized seizure of the electronic data of the Respondents and so breached their Charter rights, as the Crown did not establish that the seizure was lawful under the relevant taxation statutes. The Court further found that there was no error in the determination that the evidence obtained as a result of the Charter breach was properly excluded. Craig Sturrock and Greg DelBigio represented the Respondents.