Destruction of Evidence – Charkaoui v. Canada ( 2008)

The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Charkaoui c. Canada (2008) that the destruction of operational notes was a breach of CSIS’s duty to retain and disclose information.

Section 7 of the Charter which guarantees the right to a full answered defence also encompasses the crown’s duty to disclose.

Disclosure extended to the operational notes and was not limited to the summaries prepared by the CSIS agents.

Despite the violation, the court decided that a stay of proceedings would be an inappropriate remedy in this case.

Yet another violation of the charter by CSIS. Only a few months prior to this decision, the Supreme Court of Canada in Canada v. Khadr (2008) recognized that CSIS’s participation in the Guantanamo process violated Canada’s international human rights obligations.