Rich Coleman, Solicitor General and Minister of Public Safety for the Province of British Columbia, has reportedly announced that the search policies at the Vancouver Jail have been changed so that new detainees will no longer be automatically strip-searched upon admission.

If true, this policy change is long overdue. In December of 2001, the Supreme Court of Canada made it clear that routine strip searches violated section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The authorities could only conduct these intrusive and demeaning searches if they had reasonable grounds to believe that the subject was hiding a weapon or evidence related to the commission of the offence that resulted in detention.

Inexplicably, those in charge of the Vancouver Jail continued to strip search everyone admitted into their custody.

Our firm has filed a class action seeking damages on behalf of everyone who had their constitutional rights violated since December of 2001. We are currently seeking dates for the hearing of an application to certify the case as a class proceeding and hope that the matter will be argued in the next few months.

If you wish to become a member of the class, please contact us.