What is the test for obtaining a search warrant and consent authorization under section 487 and section 184.2 of the Criminal Code?

Warrants and wiretap authorizations cannot be obtained on the basis of a “worst case scenario” or a “possibility” of an offence. Section 487 and s. 184.2 of the Criminal Code require, at a statutory minimum, that there be reasonable grounds to believe that the offence listed in the warrant or authorization has been (or will be) committed. The police are only permitted to obtain these orders and invade citizens’ privacy where the interests in law enforcement outweigh individual interests in privacy. The police must meet the standard of credibly based probability (Hunter v. Southam, 1984 CanLII 33 (SCC), [1984] 2 S.C.R. 145). If that standard was not met, then the police were not entitled to obtain a search warrant and consent authorization.