DOGS WILL KEEP SNIFFING

OTTAWA -- Canadians will continue to see scent-tracking dogs doing
random searches at airports and lawmakers are considering new ways for
canines to sniff out other public places, says Public Safety Minister
Stockwell Day.

With a trained Labrador retriever named Shelly at his side, Day held a
news conference Wednesday at the Ottawa airport to warn the public
that two rulings from the Supreme Court of Canada last week do not
amount to a licence to carry illicit drugs and other contraband in
public places.

The decisions cleared an Ontario high school student and a Vancouver
man of drug charges on the grounds that random sniffer-dog searches
violated the Charter of Rights protection against unreasonable search
and seizure in a school and bus depot, respectively.

Police will persist in using the dogs for routine searches at
airports, border stations and federal prisons, Day said.

"I am wanting to make sure that anybody out there who is thinking of
transporting contraband or explosive material or items like that, I am
sending a message very clearly, that (we) will continue to use sniffer
dogs in these facilities," he said.

Day acknowledged, however, that other locations, such as schools and
bus stations, are more problematic, after the Supreme Court ruled
police must have a reasonable suspicion of a crime before allowing
their dogs to sniff out the public.

Day said he does not like the rulings and officials in the Justice and
Public Safety departments are looking at ways to allow sniffer dogs to
help protect students and the general public from drugs and bombs.

He hinted the government is prepared to craft a new law that revives
police powers weakened by the Supreme Court, but he did not elaborate.

While the Supreme Court effectively wiped out random searches in some
public places, the decisions were silent on airports, which are
governed by stricter security laws.

Several Supreme Court rulings have established that privacy rights are
lower when weighed against the need to secure the borders, setting
precedents that legal experts say would entitle police to use their
scent-tracking dogs in airports.

There is no federal legislation, however, that specifically spells out
when police can use sniffer dogs, in airports or elsewhere.

The Supreme Court invited Parliament to draft new legislation and see
how is stands up legally when balanced against a charter provision
that established rights are subject to "reasonable limits."

Day said current federal legislation governing airports and borders
tries to put up a "protective legal fence" around high-security areas
and there is a "social understanding" that individuals will be screened.

"We do know that any law in a democratic society is subject to be
challenged and we just want to make it very clear that our present
legislation does allow us to continue to use sniffer dogs in cases
like this," said Day.

He added that any move by the government will respect the Supreme
Court ruling.