Is a person who refuses to comply with section 235(1) of the Canadian Bill of Rights liable to arrest and prosecution for refusing to comply?

56. A refusal to comply with a s. 235(1) demand without reasonable excuse is, under s. 235(2), a criminal offence. It is not realistic to speak of a person who is liable to arrest and prosecution for refusal to comply with a demand which a peace officer is empowered by statute to make as being free to refuse to comply. The criminal liability for refusal to comply constitutes effective compulsion. This psychological compulsion or coercion effected by the consequence of a refusal to comply with a s. 235(1) demand appears to be what Laskin J. (as he then was) had in mind in Hogan v. The Queen, 1974 CanLII 185 (SCC), [1975] 2 S.C.R. 574 at p. 587, where he said: "There is no doubt, therefore, that the accused was `detained' within the meaning of s. 2(c)(ii) of the Canadian Bill of Rights; he risked prosecution under s. 235(2) if, without reasonable excuse, he refused the demand which involved accompanying the peace officer to fulfil it". Any criminal liability for failure to comply with a demand or direction of a police officer must be sufficient to make compliance involuntary. This would be true, for example, of compliance where refusal to comply would amount to a wilful obstruction of a police officer in the execution of his or her duty, contrary to s. 118 of the Criminal Code.