What constitutes a search and seizure?

39 Part of the conduct to which Southin J.A. referred involved three police officers surreptitiously placing their ears against a closed apartment door to attempt to overhear the conversation taking place inside. In that light, the conclusion that this constituted a search appears reasonable. However, if the words of Southin J.A. are read literally, without regard to the particular circumstances, and without regard to the purpose and meaning of s. 8 itself, any conceivable police investigatory techniques would be included. This goes against the interpretation which has been accorded s. 8. Dickson J. (as he then was) in Hunter v. Southam Inc. 1984 CanLII 33 (SCC), [1984] 2 S.C.R. 145, stated at pp. 159-60: The guarantee of security from unreasonable search and seizure only protects a reasonable expectation. This limitation on the right guaranteed by s. 8, whether it is expressed negatively as freedom from "unreasonable" search and seizure, or positively as an entitlement to a "reasonable" expectation of privacy, indicates that an assessment must be made as to whether in a particular situation the public's interest in being left alone by government must give way to the government's interest in intruding on the individual's privacy in order to advance its goals, notably those of law enforcement. [Emphasis by underlining in original; italics added.]