Section 9: Arbitrary Detention

Section 9 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

"Everyone has the right not to be arbitrarily detained or imprisoned."

Section 9 states that no person can be taken into custody or held without a good reason. For example, A police officer must have a legitimate reason for detaining a person or else they will face consequences and even a job loss. If government officials have no reason to take someone into custody then they cannot do this legally. Laws and regulations have to be made to prevent this from happening, and there are serious consequences for not following them.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms, along with all the other important legal documents of the Canadian Constitution, is important because it protects us and provides fairness and predictability for a well put together society, whereas if we didn't have rights and freedoms people might be put in jail for no reason, stolen from, killed, or worse, but with these regulations and protections we are all able to live freely and happily as long as we don't break the law. Various legal issues and societal factors relate to the development and protection of human rights in Canada because when issues happen or society changes, new forms of protections and human rights are created to allow for a more sophisticated and just society for everyone to live in.

Limiting Some Rights

A situation where limiting some rights and freedoms could be allowed would be Covid-19. There is a pandemic and because of it our rights and freedoms have been limited for a limited amount of time. A person might be put under mandatory quarantine or detained just for travelling or not saying who they are and where they live in this case. This is justified right now because we need to protect against Covid-19 and because it keeps the infected down to a minimum.

An Important Case

One important case related to section 9 would have to be R. v. Clayton, 2007 SCC 32. In this case police officers risked people's public safety and put up a roadblock to stop anyone from leaving the parking lot in hopes of catching 10 guys who were reportedly showing off guns in public. A car which did not match the description was stopped trying to get out and one of two men inside the car tried to run away but was held and the two men were searched and arrested and the police found prohibited handguns. I think this case is important because it set the precedent that police had too much power to detain people and that actions like that should only be taken when someone has committed a serious criminal offence.

Maddock, J. (n.d.). R. v. Clayton, 2007 SCC 32. Retrieved from http://www.chartercases.com/r-v-clayton-2007-scc-32/