Assistance Orders
| This page was last substantively updated or reviewed January 2023. (Rev. # 96217) |
General Principles
An assistance order is a form of supplementary authorization that is a companion to primary authorization, usually an authorization under s. 487 or 492.2(2). It permits police to compel the participation of persons in the execution of the primary authorization, which will usually be search warrant but could also include arrest warrant.
The combination of the primary warrant with an assistance order can "be used ... to effectively require a third person to deliver items to the police."[1]
- Assistance order
487.02 (1) If an authorization is given under section 184.2 [one-party consent wiretap], 186 [authorization of wiretap] or 188 [emergency wiretaps] or a warrant is issued under this Act, the judge or justice who gives the authorization or issues the warrant may order a person to provide assistance, if the person’s assistance may reasonably be considered to be required to give effect to the authorization or warrant. The order has effect throughout Canada.
- Telecommunication
(2) If the authorization is given or the warrant is issued by a means of telecommunication under section 184.3 [one-party consent wiretap by telewarrant] or 487.1 [telewarrants], the order to provide assistance may be issued by a means of telecommunication and, in that case, section 184.3 [one-party consent wiretap by telewarrant] or 487.1 [telewarrants], as the case may be, applies with respect to the order.
1993, c. 40, s. 15; 1997, c. 18, s. 43; 2014, c. 31, s. 20; 2019, c. 25, s. 195; 2022, c. 17, s. 18.
[annotation(s) added]
The requirements of an assistance order are:
- a warrant was made under the Code (or an order under s. 492.2(2))
- a person's assistance is required to give effect to the warrant or order
- the person capable to provide assistance is not the accused
Assistance orders do not apply to production orders.[2]
Section 490.02 can be used to compel employees of an office to locate and gather items and provide them to police.[3]
An assistance order can be used to require a telco to disclose subscriber information in company with a s. 492.2 order for a transmission data recorder.[4]
The order cannot be used to force an accused to unlock his phone as it would force an accused to incriminate himself contrary to s. 7 of the Charter.[5]
- ↑ R v National Post, 2004 CanLII 8048 (ON SC), 19 CR (6th) 393, per Benotto J
- ↑
Re Subscriber Information, 2015 ABPC 178 (CanLII), per Henderson J, at para 46
- ↑
National Post, supra, at para 32
- ↑ R v Telus, 2015 ONSC 3072 (CanLII), per Nordheimer J
- ↑ R v Talbot, 2017 ONCJ 814 (CanLII), per Applegate J