Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Canada

Re: Cops

The question asked was: "I heard that if you think someone is an under-cover police officer and you ask him if he's a cop, does he have to tell you the truth, if he is a cop?

Answer: In Canada, if a police officer is acting in an undercover capacity and they are asked directly whether they are a police officer, there would neither be a requirement, nor any duty, upon that police officer to "blow their cover" and identify themselves as being a police officer.

Last year, the Canadian Parliament passed special legislation (Bill C-24) which allows undercover police officers, under certain conditions, to break the law (for example, theft, certain types of assaults, narcotics transactions) if they believe such actions are necessary either to infiltrate a criminal organization or to maintain their cover as part of an ongoing police investigation. That law does not come into force in Canada until February 1, 2002.

It is the first such legislation in a common-law country and has raised grave concerns amongst Canadians about the need for it, and how it will be used.