I have many doubts about the legality of Decree 2-2021 which imposes a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. First and foremost, in terms of the division of powers between the federal and provincial governments, imposing prison at home is a matter of federal jurisdiction and not of provincial jurisdiction.

But even worse, a police officer questioning citizens after 8 p.m. about what they are doing outside of their homes violates the elementary rules of criminal and penal law in the country since the establishment of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Since when can a police officer question citizens before advising them of their rights when they are suspected of breaking the law? NEVER.

The right to silence established both in jurisprudence and in the Charter is a fundamental principle in both federal criminal law and provincial statutory law. There are no exceptions to this universal principle in common law anywhere in the world.

Consequently, being a suspect, the first thing the police officer must do when he intercepts you is to advise you of your right to remain silent and your right to speak to a lawyer. There are twelve exceptions in Decree 2-2021 which allows you to be away from home at night. The directives of the Minister of Health are that the police officer must ensure that the suspect does not fall within one of the twelve exceptions. He must therefore question you to find out. Do you see the total inconsistency in its very face of this decree?

Never in my life do I think I will live a situation where a judge will say that we are going to set aside all the great fundamental principles of the Charter and the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Canada to allow the government of Quebec to imprison the entire population of his province at night.

To the self-righteous who will say that the current health crisis takes precedence over the principles of law, I will answer that such an approach is the establishment of a totalitarian regime where the law no longer exists and the dictatorship governs our lives.

WARNING: Laws are presumed to be constitutional, so this personal opinion does not in any way encourage people to break the law. Only a competent court can declare this curfew offense illegal and unconstitutional.

Jean Dury, attorney