Right to Silence versus The Caution - The mystery by Gino Arcaro M.Ed., B.Sc.

Here's an open-book test:

1. Find the phrase "Right to Silence" in a Canadian statute.
2. Where is the phrase "Right to Silence" printed in the Charter?
3. What statute explains what to say to an arrested person about the "Right to Silence?"

Answers:

1. You won't find it.
2. Nowhere.
3. None.

Imagine being a police officer. You arrest a person for a major crime. You intend to interrogate him to get the all-important confession. What is the exact "Right to Silence" instruction? How exactly do you say, "You have to right to remain silent" and "You don't have to talk to me."

Incredibly, there is no statutory law that answers these questions. Instead, you have to sift through mounds of case law to find out exactly how to tell an arrested person that s/he does not have to talk to you.