A blue Volkswagen with Alberta plates is pulled over by two Mounties on an October afternoon in Fort Providence. The driver is detained SA国际影视传媒� then arrested.

In the backseat of the car, inside a suitcase, officers locate a fully loaded AR-15 carbine rifle, along with a folding knife. In the trunk, locked in a safe, cash and nearly 100 grams of cocaine is uncovered.

It was a significant drug and weapons seizure SA国际影视传媒� later characterized as SA国际影视传媒渞areSA国际影视传媒� by a NWT Supreme Court Justice. In a news release issued on Oct. 22, 2018, two days after the seizure, NWT lauded the efforts of the officers for SA国际影视传媒渞emoving dangerous weapons and illicit drugs from the community.SA国际影视传媒�

But the man behind the wheel, 30-year-old Cassiuis Paradis SA国际影视传媒� who has pleaded not guilty to 12 gun and drug charges stemming from the October traffic stop SA国际影视传媒� argued his Charter rights were violated when he was stopped and searched by police.

On March 1, Justice Shannon Smallwood agreed.

Smallwood ruled the Mounties SA国际影视传媒� constables Steven Beck and Lee Bennett SA国际影视传媒� violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when they stopped Paradis. At the point when the car was pulled over, the officers did not have reasonable grounds to detain Paradis, she said.

SA国际影视传媒淭he initial stop was unlawful,SA国际影视传媒� said Smallwood, adding the SA国际影视传媒渟ole purposeSA国际影视传媒� of the traffic stop was to investigate a drug trafficking complaint.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects citizens from being SA国际影视传媒渁rbitrarily detained or imprisoned.SA国际影视传媒�

Paradis's Charter challenge triggered a voir dire SA国际影视传媒� a trial within a trial SA国际影视传媒� to determine the admissibility of the evidence seized following the traffic stop. His lawyer called for an exclusion of the evidence SA国际影视传媒� the drugs, money and weapons SA国际影视传媒� on the grounds it was gathered unlawfully.

Both Beck and Bennett were called to testify.

Beck testified he received a report on Oct. 20, 2018 about a group of men selling cocaine in a blue car. The complainant couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 identify the men believed to be trafficking the drugs. Days earlier, another police officer received the same information through a tip from the public. While investigating the report, Beck testified he spotted a blue Volkswagen parked outside a duplex. He saw two individuals, including a SA国际影视传媒渓arge manSA国际影视传媒� with a suitcase, standing near the car before they noticed him and ran inside the duplex, he said.

Deeming the behaviour strange, Beck testified he decided to set up a traffic stop near the detachment, along the only road leaving Fort Providence.

Some 15 minutes later, Beck and Bennett pulled Paradis over as he passed the detachment. The purpose of the stop, testified Beck, was to further the drug investigation. Smallwood noted the officers failed to contact the complainant who first reported the alleged drug trafficking before stopping the vehicle. In addition, no details relayed by the complainant were corroborated independently by prior to the traffic stop.

Smallwood ruled that because the initial stop was unlawful, the subsequent detention and searches of ParadisSA国际影视传媒檚 vehicle were unlawful too. Paradis was not advised of the reason for his detention, or of his right to contact a lawyer, until after he exited the vehicle - several minutes after the stop had started, said Smallwood.

Despite finding the Mounties breached ParadisSA国际影视传媒檚 Charter rights, Smallwood ruled against excluding the evidence.

When weighing whether or not to exclude evidence following a challenge, judges must consider the seriousness of the violation, the impact of the breach on the accused and the publicSA国际影视传媒檚 interest in seeing the matter adjudicated. Evidence is excluded if a judge or justice finds its admission would SA国际影视传媒渂ring the administration of justice into disrepute,SA国际影视传媒� according to the federal government's website.

Smallwood, who called it a SA国际影视传媒渃lose case,SA国际影视传媒� said while the Mounties breached ParadisSA国际影视传媒檚 rights, they did not do so deliberately. They werenSA国际影视传媒檛 acting in SA国际影视传媒渂ad faith,SA国际影视传媒� but showed a lack of recognition of Charter standards, she said.

Smallwood characterized the violations as being in the SA国际影视传媒渕id to seriousSA国际影视传媒� range.

Turning to the evidence, Smallwood called it SA国际影视传媒渉ighly reliableSA国际影视传媒� and SA国际影视传媒渃riticalSA国际影视传媒� to the CrownSA国际影视传媒檚 case against Paradis. Drugs, she said, are often seized in vehicles, but rarely alongside a loaded AR-15, which is associated with SA国际影视传媒渟chool shootings,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Smallwood couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 recall another case in the jurisdiction where that type of weapon was seized.

The allegations outlined in the charges against Paradis have not been proven. He is due back in a Yellowknife courtroom on May 9.