VANCOUVER - There will be no change in the way Canada's border guards search vehicles, despite a B.C. provincial court decision that tossed out a drug charge by saying a man's rights were violated when his truck was searched.
Chris Williams, a spokesman for the Canada Border Services Agency, said the case is under appeal and until a higher court hears it, "we're going to continue our vigilance with our enforcement efforts based on the processes and the procedures that we have in place."
But the lawyer for the man who walked away from charges that he tried to import 50 kilograms of cocaine said the agency's decision not to comply with the ruling is "nothing short of vigilantism."
Trafficking charges against Ajitpal Singh Sekhon were thrown out when provincial court Judge Ellen Gordon ruled Sekhon's rights were violated when guards drilled holes into his truck to search for the drugs.
Williams said Wednesday the agency bases its search procedures on previous court precedents.
But Gordon noted in her written reasons that past Supreme Court of Canada decisions aren't necessarily relevant in assessing a search conducted at Canada's borders.
"Drilling a hole into a pick-up truck would decrease its value significantly," Gordon wrote.
"The damage done to the vehicle...is directly proportional to the analysis of the reasonableness of the manner in which the search was carried out."
Lawrence Myers, who successfully defended Sekhon in his Charter challenge of search, said it is the duty of law enforcement officers to abide by the law and he's surprised the border service plans no change to its methods.
"The essence of the (court) decision is that it (the border) is not a Charter-free zone," he said.
"In our law, the courts have constantly worked very hard at trying to balance the public's rights...in conjunction with the police right to investigate crime."
He said the easy answer for customs officers is to make a phone call to a justice of the peace for a search warrant.
Ron Moran, president of 10,00 workers in the Customs Excise Union, said in a busy, high-volume border crossing, calling for a search warrant is no solution at all.
"If you have two or three or five searches going on simultaneously and people on the phone trying to convince judges that they need to issue these warrants, it would grind to a halt."
Moran said getting a search warrant wouldn't even cross their minds.
"It's not something we're taught."
He said they're very confident the federal court system will reverse the provincial court decision.
"What happens sometimes is judges try to leave their mark and they're looking for a case that will do that for them. I don't know if this is the case here."
Sekhon was stopped by guards on Jan. 25, 2005 at the Aldergrove border crossing in the B.C. Lower Mainland.
He claimed he had been in the U.S. just a few hours to distribute paycheques to farm workers.
Officers drilled into the bed of his truck after a drug-sniffing dog indicated drugs were in the vehicle.
Myers said his client never gave evidence, and "it doesn't matter" if the cocaine was his.
