By KIRK MAKIN

TORONTO, ONTARIO – The Supreme Court of Canada has created a chaotic legal situation by giving police the right to briefly detain and question civilians based on mere suspicion, a weekend conference on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was told.

A panel that included two Ontario judges and two legal academics said that the new police tool – created in 2004 and dubbed “investigative detention” – has seriously damaged traditional civil liberties and left police in a state of confusion.

Under the new power, police can briefly stop and question an individual if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that he could be connected to a crime – or might be planning to commit one.

But instead of striking a careful, clear balance between civil liberties and police powers, panelists said the change virtually gives police carte blanche to stop and question civilians indiscriminately.

“We are ratcheting down the standards we were so familiar with,” said Mr. Justice Casey Hill of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. “All of a sudden, this interim standard is all about suspicion and possibility.”

He said the present situation appears to justify stopping two innocent people for every person who ends up being charged. “This is a pretty diluted standard, and we’ve got to recognize what we have done.”

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