Does the Crown have the burden of proving that a search conducted incidental to an arrest is reasonable?

Crown counsel argued, following the decision in Hunter v. Southam Inc., 1984 CanLII 33 (SCC), [1984] 2 S.C.R. 145 that once the Applicant for Charter relief has demonstrated that the state conducted a warrantless search or seizure, the Crown bears the burden of showing the search was in fact reasonable, unless the search power is a recognized exception to the presumption of unreasonableness. A search that is conducted incidental to an arrest is one of those recognized exceptions.

The decision in Cloutier v. Langlois, 1990 CanLII 122 (SCC), [1990] 1 S.C.R. 158 at para. 40 confirms the following: The common law power to conduct a warrantless search incidental to arrest, permits the police to search a lawfully arrested person and to seize anything in his or her possession or immediate surroundings to guarantee the safety of the police and the accused, prevent the prisoner’s escape or provide evidence against him.”