Does the issue of informed consent by an accused under s.8 of the Charter apply?

However, it is also apparent that the issue of an informed consent by an accused where an officer is seeking approval to conduct a search of a motor vehicle is still an important consideration. The court must carefully scrutinize the circumstances to determine whether an accused did in fact provide an informed consent to the search. In this regard, in R v. Clements 1996 CanLII 206 (SCC), [1996] 1 C.R. (5th) 393 (S.C.C.), Cory J. made the following observations, in dismissing the appeal, at paragraph 1: “There was cogent evidence to support the trial judge’s finding that the appellant consented to the search of his car before he was detained. The appellant testified that he knew that the police had no right to search his car. It is apparent that he gave his consent freely and voluntarily. It follows that the search thus consented to did not infringe s.8 of the Charter. The appeal is therefore dismissed.”