What is the test for preliminary questioning under the Charter of Human Rights?

In Regina v. Suberu at paragraph 28, the court stated: “In a situation where the police believe a crime has recently been committed, the police many engage in preliminary questioning of bystanders without giving rise to a detention under s. 9 and 10 of the Charter. Despite police request for information or assistance, a bystander is under no legal obligation to comply. This legal proposition must inform the perspective of the reasonable person and the circumstances of the person being questioned. The onus is on the applicant to show that in the circumstances he or she was effectively deprived of his or her liberty of choice. The test is an objective one and the failure of the applicant to testify as to his or her perceptions of the encounter is not fatal to the application. However, the applicant’s contention that the police by their conduct affected a significant deprivation of his or her liberty must find support in the evidence.”

Further, at paragraph 5 in Regina v. Suberu: “Even when an encounter clearly results in a detention, for example when the person is ultimately arrested and taken into police custody, it cannot simply be assumed that there was a detention from the beginning of the interaction. Given the immediacy of the s. 10(b) obligation to inform a detainee of his or her right to counsel, it is important to determine if and when an encounter between the police and the individual effectively crystalizes in a detention. It will be depend on the circumstances. It is for the trial judge, applying the proper legal principles to the particular facts of the case, to determine whether the line has been crossed.”