Any person may be a suspect – you, another family member or people in the community – whether or not you are innocent. If you are being treated as a suspect or if you have been detained, you must be advised of your rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms before speaking to investigators.
Under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:
You have the right to retain counsel (a lawyer)
You have the right to refuse to answer questions from the police
You must be told why you are being detained
If you choose to hire a lawyer, paying the lawyer may be your responsibility. When you make a statement, you may want to have your lawyer with you. Give the statement only once. There will always be discrepancies if you give several statements. No one can remember exactly what they said at a later date and reproduce it. Videotaped statements are a good idea.
Police officers must also inform you that any statements you do make may be used against you in a criminal trial.
Be aware that some police officers may not be totally truthful with you. Some might say, “We have evidence that you did this,” when they do not have this evidence at all. Some may not be people of integrity. Deception may be used to encourage the suspect to confess to specific crimes. The bait might be financial rewards.
Mennonite Central Committee Canada. (2011). Getting through the maze: A guidebook for survivors of homicide.