zang
Senior Member
Until a government in power in this country wins with a clear majority of the popular vote; any alternative is paranoia-fodder for election planners.
But we can't wait. We have to demand it from our politicians.
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Premier Doug Ford's Ontario
- Thread starter animatronic
- Start date
But we can't wait. We have to demand it from our politicians.
DSC
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I assume the Police Act allows this which is VERY strange. If I refused to be interviewed by the police I doubt this would work out well.
Totally ridiculous!
Totally ridiculous!
TOP STORY
Officers involved in deadly wrong-way crash have refused to speak with SIU
The province’s police watchdog says two officers at the centre of the investigation into a fatal wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby earlier this year have not agreed to be interviewed or submitted their notes to investigators.
evandyk
Senior Member
To be fair, nobody is obligated to give the police an interview if they're suspected of a crime. But they should be incentivized to do it voluntarily by being fired if they don't.
Coolibop
Active Member
lenaitch
Senior Member
Nope; the Charter allows it. It also allows you to refuse to be interviewed.
The Charter might have something to say about that as well.
DSC
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If I worked as a bank manager and lots of money was found to be missing from my branch, I doubt I would be able to refuse to talk to the police or produce my daily reports. If I was not arrested/charged I bet I would certainly not be paid by the bank for much longer. The police are given many powers and have many responsibilities but more (or at least the same) should really be expected of them.
Northern Light
Superstar
Notes taken while on a job for an employer should reasonably be considered 'work product' and the property of the employer. They are not your diary.
Your work email account is not yours, its your employers, the same as your hard drive on your work computer, or the phone log on your work owned cell phone.
If you don't want them read by someone else, don't write them. If that makes you unable to do your job...........you should find alternate employment.
An interview is a different matter, to a point.
It clearly depends on whether the contents of any interview can be used at trial; if they can, then, you have a right not to self-incriminate, but you can also be (potentially) charged with obstructing a police investigation.
If there is an agreement that you are being interviewed only for disciplinary purposes, and that that can't be used at trial, then I think you can be obliged to cooperate the same way any employee who failed to discuss w/their boss how the workplace got trashed, could expect to lose their job.
The Charter does not protect your right to employment, only the right not to self-incriminate.
Jonny5
Senior Member
It's always shaky to make analogies across completely different job types and situations like this, but I suspect if you were a bank manager and lots of money was found to be missing from your branch then the bank's investigative team would take over immediately, and if you were not yet charged with any crime they would probably put you on paid leave with explicit instructions not to speak or assist with any police or regulator investigation unless the bank lawyers told you to do so.
evandyk
Senior Member
And if they asked you to come in for an interview and you told them to fuck off, you’d be fired immediately. But if the cops asked to interview you and you told them to fuck off, the cops couldn’t use your refusal to talk as evidence against you in a criminal proceeding.
Other than the fact that the cop brass and union always protect bad cops, there’s no reason a cop shouldn’t be fired for refusing to participate in an internal investigation.
Other than the fact that the cop brass and union always protect bad cops, there’s no reason a cop shouldn’t be fired for refusing to participate in an internal investigation.
lenaitch
Senior Member
Regardless of the media, the test that the courts will apply will always be 'reasonable expectation of privacy'. A note, record, report, etc. required by employment can be considered 'compelled' and anyone conducting a criminal investigation who doesn't obtain judicial authorization ('warrant') is a bad investigator. Even if information is voluntarily surrendered, it can become a bit of a minefield.
The admissibility of any piece of evidence is potentially subject to a voir dire hearing on any number of grounds. It or any part of it may be excluded.
Lack of cooperation is not obstruction in Canada unless it is legally compelled, and they are rare (eg. you are required to produce your driver's licence while operating a vehicle).
In the current circumstances, the SIU don't do disciplinary investigations. They are a criminal investigation unit - it's right in their mandate, so there is no confusion as to purpose.
You are correct that the Charter does not directly protect employment, but the termination might be considered unlawful. I'm not really up on labour law. In this example, the police don't do disciplinary interviews; that's the employers issue, and if the cops wanted the notes of that, they would need a warrant.
In the 'bank manager' example, if money went missing from a workplace with multiple employees, they don't arrest the head person in this country 'just cuz'.