Criminal Code (R.S.C., 1985, c. C-46)

Marginal note:Information for search warrant

• 487 (1) A justice who is satisfied by information on oath in Form 1 that there are reasonable grounds to believe that there is in a building, receptacle or place

  • (a) anything on or in respect of which any offence against this Act or any other Act of Parliament has been or is suspected to have been committed,

  • (b) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe will afford evidence with respect to the commission of an offence, or will reveal the whereabouts of a person who is believed to have committed an offence, against this Act or any other Act of Parliament,

  • (c) anything that there are reasonable grounds to believe is intended to be used for the purpose of committing any offence against the person for which a person may be arrested without warrant, or

  • (c.1) any offence-related property,

  may at any time issue a warrant authorizing a peace officer or a public officer who has been appointed or designated to administer or enforce a federal or provincial law and whose duties include the enforcement of this Act or any other Act of Parliament and who is named in the warrant

  • (d) to search the building, receptacle or place for any such thing and to seize it, and

  • (e) subject to any other Act of Parliament, to, as soon as practicable, bring the thing seized before, or make a report in respect of it to, a justice in accordance with section 489.1.

• Marginal note:Execution in Canada

  (2) A warrant issued under subsection (1) may be executed at any place in Canada. A public officer named in the warrant, or any peace officer, who executes the warrant must have authority to act in that capacity in the place where the warrant is executed.

• Marginal note:Operation of computer system and copying equipment

  (2.1) A person authorized under this section to search a computer system in a building or place for data may

  • (a) use or cause to be used any computer system at the building or place to search any data contained in or available to the computer system;

  • (b) reproduce or cause to be reproduced any data in the form of a print-out or other intelligible output;

  • (c) seize the print-out or other output for examination or copying; and

  • (d) use or cause to be used any copying equipment at the place to make copies of the data.

• Marginal note:Duty of person in possession or control

  (2.2) Every person who is in possession or control of any building or place in respect of which a search is carried out under this section shall, on presentation of the warrant, permit the person carrying out the search

  • (a) to use or cause to be used any computer system at the building or place in order to search any data contained in or available to the computer system for data that the person is authorized by this section to search for;

  • (b) to obtain a hard copy of the data and to seize it; and

  • (c) to use or cause to be used any copying equipment at the place to make copies of the data.

• Marginal note:Form

  (3) A search warrant issued under this section may be in the form set out as Form 5 in Part XXVIII, varied to suit the case.

• (4) [Repealed, 2019, c. 25, s. 191]

Marginal note:Information for general warrant

• 487.01 (1) A provincial court judge, a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction or a judge as defined in section 552 may issue a warrant in writing authorizing a peace officer to, subject to this section, use any device or investigative technique or procedure or do any thing described in the warrant that would, if not authorized, constitute an unreasonable search or seizure in respect of a person or a person’s property if

  • (a) the judge is satisfied by information on oath in writing that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an offence against this or any other Act of Parliament has been or will be committed and that information concerning the offence will be obtained through the use of the technique, procedure or device or the doing of the thing;

  • (b) the judge is satisfied that it is in the best interests of the administration of justice to issue the warrant; and

  • (c) there is no other provision in this or any other Act of Parliament that would provide for a warrant, authorization or order permitting the technique, procedure or device to be used or the thing to be done.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall be construed as to permit interference with the bodily integrity of any person.

• Marginal note:Search or seizure to be reasonable

  (3) A warrant issued under subsection (1) shall contain such terms and conditions as the judge considers advisable to ensure that any search or seizure authorized by the warrant is reasonable in the circumstances.

• Marginal note:Video surveillance

  (4) A warrant issued under subsection (1) that authorizes a peace officer to observe, by means of a television camera or other similar electronic device, any person who is engaged in activity in circumstances in which the person has a reasonable expectation of privacy shall contain such terms and conditions as the judge considers advisable to ensure that the privacy of the person or of any other person is respected as much as possible.

• Marginal note:Other provisions to apply

  (5) The definition offence in section 183 and sections 183.1, 184.2, 184.3 and 185 to 188.2, subsection 189(5), and sections 190, 193 and 194 to 196 apply, with such modifications as the circumstances require, to a warrant referred to in subsection (4) as though references in those provisions to interceptions of private communications were read as references to observations by peace officers by means of television cameras or similar electronic devices of activities in circumstances in which persons had reasonable expectations of privacy.

• Marginal note:Notice after covert entry

  (5.1) A warrant issued under subsection (1) that authorizes a peace officer to enter and search a place covertly shall require, as part of the terms and conditions referred to in subsection (3), that notice of the entry and search be given within any time after the execution of the warrant that the judge considers reasonable in the circumstances.

• Marginal note:Extension of period for giving notice

  (5.2) Where the judge who issues a warrant under subsection (1) or any other judge having jurisdiction to issue such a warrant is, on the basis of an affidavit submitted in support of an application to vary the period within which the notice referred to in subsection (5.1) is to be given, is satisfied that the interests of justice warrant the granting of the application, the judge may grant an extension, or a subsequent extension, of the period, but no extension may exceed three years.

• Marginal note:Execution in Canada

  (6) A warrant issued under subsection (1) may be executed at any place in Canada. Any peace officer who executes the warrant must have authority to act as a peace officer in the place where it is executed.

• (7) [Repealed, 2022, c. 17, s. 17]

Marginal note:Definitions

487.011 The following definitions apply in this section and in sections 487.012 to 487.0199.

computer data

computer data has the same meaning as in subsection 342.1(2). (données informatiques)

data

data means representations, including signs, signals or symbols, that are capable of being understood by an individual or processed by a computer system or other device. (données)

document

document means a medium on which data is registered or marked. (document)

judge

judge means a judge of a superior court of criminal jurisdiction or a judge of the Court of Quebec. (juge)

public officer

public officer means a public officer who is appointed or designated to administer or enforce a federal or provincial law and whose duties include the enforcement of this Act or any other Act of Parliament. (fonctionnaire public)

tracking data

tracking data means data that relates to the location of a transaction, individual or thing. (données de localisation)

transmission data

transmission data means data that

• (a) relates to the telecommunication functions of dialling, routing, addressing or signalling;

• (b) is transmitted to identify, activate or configure a device, including a computer program as defined in subsection 342.1(2), in order to establish or maintain access to a telecommunication service for the purpose of enabling a communication, or is generated during the creation, transmission or reception of a communication and identifies or purports to identify the type, direction, date, time, duration, size, origin, destination or termination of the communication; and

• (c) does not reveal the substance, meaning or purpose of the communication. (données de transmission)

Marginal note:Preservation demand

• 487.012 (1) A peace officer or public officer may make a demand to a person in Form 5.001 requiring them to preserve computer data that is in their possession or control when the demand is made.

• Marginal note:Conditions for making demand

  (2) The peace officer or public officer may make the demand only if they have reasonable grounds to suspect that

  • (a) an offence has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament or has been committed under a law of a foreign state;

  • (b) in the case of an offence committed under a law of a foreign state, an investigation is being conducted by a person or authority with responsibility in that state for the investigation of such offences; and

  • (c) the computer data is in the person’s possession or control and will assist in the investigation of the offence.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (3) A demand may not be made to a person who is under investigation for the offence referred to in paragraph (2)(a).

• Marginal note:Expiry and revocation of demand

  (4) A peace officer or public officer may revoke the demand by notice given to the person at any time. Unless the demand is revoked earlier, the demand expires

  • (a) in the case of an offence that has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament, 21 days after the day on which it is made; and

  • (b) in the case of an offence committed under a law of a foreign state, 90 days after the day on which it is made.

• Marginal note:Conditions in demand

  (5) The peace officer or public officer who makes the demand may impose any conditions in the demand that they consider appropriate  — including conditions prohibiting the disclosure of its existence or some or all of its contents  — and may revoke a condition at any time by notice given to the person.

• Marginal note:No further demand

  (6) A peace officer or public officer may not make another demand requiring the person to preserve the same computer data in connection with the investigation.

Marginal note:Preservation order — computer data

• 487.013 (1) On ex parte application made by a peace officer or public officer, a justice or judge may order a person to preserve computer data that is in their possession or control when they receive the order.

• Marginal note:Conditions for making order

  (2) Before making the order, the justice or judge must be satisfied by information on oath in Form 5.002

  • (a) that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament or has been committed under a law of a foreign state, that the computer data is in the person’s possession or control and that it will assist in the investigation of the offence; and

  • (b) that a peace officer or public officer intends to apply or has applied for a warrant or an order in connection with the investigation to obtain a document that contains the computer data.

• Marginal note:Offence against law of foreign state

  (3) If an offence has been committed under a law of a foreign state, the justice or judge must also be satisfied that a person or authority with responsibility in that state for the investigation of such offences is conducting the investigation.

• Marginal note:Form

  (4) The order is to be in Form 5.003.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (5) A person who is under investigation for an offence referred to in paragraph (2)(a) may not be made subject to an order.

• Marginal note:Expiry of order

  (6) Unless the order is revoked earlier, it expires 90 days after the day on which it is made.

Marginal note:General production order

• 487.014 (1) Subject to sections 487.015 to 487.018, on ex parte application made by a peace officer or public officer, a justice or judge may order a person to produce a document that is a copy of a document that is in their possession or control when they receive the order, or to prepare and produce a document containing data that is in their possession or control at that time.

• Marginal note:Conditions for making order

  (2) Before making the order, the justice or judge must be satisfied by information on oath in Form 5.004 that there are reasonable grounds to believe that

  • (a) an offence has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament; and

  • (b) the document or data is in the person’s possession or control and will afford evidence respecting the commission of the offence.

• Marginal note:Form

  (3) The order is to be in Form 5.005.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (4) A person who is under investigation for the offence referred to in subsection (2) may not be made subject to an order.

Marginal note:Production order to trace specified communication

• 487.015 (1) On ex parte application made by a peace officer or public officer for the purpose of identifying a device or person involved in the transmission of a communication, a justice or judge may order a person to prepare and produce a document containing transmission data that is related to that purpose and that is, when they are served with the order, in their possession or control.

• Marginal note:Conditions for making order

  (2) Before making the order, the justice or judge must be satisfied by information on oath in Form 5.004 that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that

  • (a) an offence has been or will be committed under this or any other Act of Parliament;

  • (b) the identification of a device or person involved in the transmission of a communication will assist in the investigation of the offence; and

  • (c) transmission data that is in the possession or control of one or more persons whose identity is unknown when the application is made will enable that identification.

• Marginal note:Form

  (3) The order is to be in Form 5.006.

• Marginal note:Service

  (4) A peace officer or public officer may serve the order on any person who was involved in the transmission of the communication and whose identity was unknown when the application was made

  • (a) within 60 days after the day on which the order is made; or

  • (b) within one year after the day on which the order is made, in the case of an offence under section 467.11, 467.12 or 467.13, an offence committed for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization, or a terrorism offence.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (5) A person who is under investigation for the offence referred to in subsection (2) may not be made subject to an order.

• Marginal note:Report

  (6) A peace officer or public officer named in the order must provide a written report to the justice or judge who made the order as soon as feasible after the person from whom the communication originated is identified or after the expiry of the period referred to in subsection (4), whichever occurs first. The report must state the name and address of each person on whom the order was served, and the date of service.