Your Rights: The most important of your rights is your right to remain silent.

Upon arrest, you have critical rights that you should exercise immediately.

The common law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrine fundamental rights for every person living in Canada. The most important of your rights upon arrest is to be immediately advised of your right to contact a lawyer. Exercise this right.

A person under arrest without the help of a lawyer is a child among adults – utterly vulnerable. Criminal justice history is replete with examples of completely innocent people, who thought they didn’t need a lawyer, being made to appear guilty by skilled investigators.

If you say you want to speak to a lawyer, the police are obligated to assist you in contacting a lawyer. If you do not know a lawyer, the police must facilitate access to staff lawyers paid by Legal Aid Ontario, known as duty counsel.

The lawyer is a gateway. He or she will advise you of other important rights you have and how to exercise them. The most important of these additional rights is your right to remain silent. This is a critical right but one very difficult to exercise without the assistance and advice of legal counsel.

Call us immediately at 416-598-5250 to speak to our criminal defence law firm if you have been charged or arrested. We accept collect calls anytime.