Police misconduct information must be disclosed in criminal case, Supreme Court says

The Supreme Court of Canada appears through the fog along the Ottawa River in Ottawa on Thursday, April 16, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada says says information about an Edmonton police detective’s past misconduct must be disclosed in the criminal proceedings of a man he helped investigate.

A 2015 finding of misconduct against Edmonton Police Service detective Jared Ruecker was recorded in a document called “Decision of Hearing.”

The misconduct finding was later removed from Ruecker’s disciplinary record sometime before early January 2022 in accordance with a regulatory provision.

In May 2022, John McKee was charged with drug and weapons offences arising from an investigation led by Ruecker.

When a person faces a criminal charge, the Crown must provide the defence with all relevant information to help the accused fully respond in court.

The Edmonton police provided the Crown with a disclosure package to be used in McKee’s prosecution. The police said it had no relevant disciplinary records related to Ruecker. The Crown provided the disclosure package to McKee.

McKee later happened to learn of a disciplinary record concerning Ruecker and asked that it also be disclosed.

It turned out the Crown had a copy in its possession through an unrelated prosecution file.

The Crown advised McKee’s counsel in 2023 that information about Ruecker’s past misconduct had a realistic bearing on the detective’s credibility.

McKee successfully applied to the Court of King’s Bench in Alberta for disclosure of the information. Edmonton’s police chief then appealed to the Supreme Court.

In its unanimous judgment issued Friday, the top court said police must meaningfully participate in the disclosure process by identifying and transmitting relevant information to the Crown, including investigative and disciplinary material. The Crown must then screen the material and decide what should be disclosed to the accused.

Writing for the court, Justice Sheilah Martin said the administrative removal of a record of police misconduct under the regulatory provision “does not alter the legal regime under which its disclosure is determined in criminal proceedings.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2026.

Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press