R v. Russ

This case involved an aboriginal person charged with illegal harvest of eight pieces of abalone after a park warden opened a parcel that the accused had entrusted with a Parks Canada employee to deliver to his wife. After ruling evidence of the initial opening of the parcel illegal under the Charter of Rights, the court commenced a separate voire dire to determine the admissibility of an inculpatory statement made by the accused to DFO that occurred several months later. After reviewing the applicable jurisprudence, the court excluded the statement because the only reason that the accused visited the fisheries officer who took the statement was to enquire about the seizure of the parcel. Accordingly, the statement was a direct result of the prior illegal search.