Are police required to inform individuals of their legal rights prior to conducting an interview in connection with a criminal investigation? The Majority of the Supreme Court of Canada recently considered this question in R v Tessier (Tessier) and ruled that police are not always required to inform individuals of their right to silence (a caution) or that statements made to the police without the warning of a right to silence may be used as incriminating evidence at trial.
This decision has far-reaching implications that stretch into the interactions that individuals or businesses may have with law enforcement in Canada during compliance investigations. The decision in Tessier implies that, in instances of criminal investigations into corporate wrongdoing, employees may not be advised of their right to silence or that their statements may later be used against them or the business. Moving forward, employers should understand that police may not caution their employees during an investigation and that a lack of caution by police is not always indicative of whether a certain employee is, or may ultimately become, a suspect in an investigation.
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