Do I have to answer police questions?
Short answer
No. In Canada, anyone who is arrested or detained has the right to remain silent, and that right is protected by section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. You do not have to give the police your version of the facts.
In detail
The right to remain silent flows from section 7 of the Charter, which protects the right to life, liberty and security of the person in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice. In practical terms: you can refuse to answer questions about what you are alleged to have done, and that refusal cannot be used against you as evidence of guilt.
One important nuance: staying silent is not the same as lying or obstructing an investigation. Giving a false name or a false statement can be a separate offence. As well, certain specific statutes (highway safety legislation, for example) require you to produce particular documents or information in defined situations.
Section 10(b) of the Charter also provides that everyone who is arrested or detained has the right “to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right”. In practice, police must suspend questioning long enough for you to speak to a lawyer if you ask for one.
A statement made to police can be filed as evidence at trial. That is why the right to silence and the right to counsel are treated as fundamental guarantees, and not as formalities.
What to document
Write down the exact date, time and place of the interaction, the names and badge numbers of the officers, the precise moment you were told your rights, the moment you asked for a lawyer and the moment you were actually able to speak to one. Note as well whether questioning continued after you asked. Write all of this down the same day: these details fade quickly and they can end up being decisive.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
- Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, ss. 7 and 10 — Justice Laws Website
- Rights of a person who is arrested or detained — Éducaloi
Related questions
- Does the police have to tell me why I am being arrested?
- How long can the police hold me before I go before a judge?
- Can the police take my fingerprints if I have not been convicted?
- Do I have the right to a free lawyer right away when I am arrested?
- Can I get legal aid for a criminal charge?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.