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https://criminaltriallawyers.ca/?q=know-your-rights

You are enjoying a walk in your area and a police officer tells you that he wants to speak with you. Most people who encounter this situation will stop and speak to the police officer until it becomes clear that the conversion is over. Most people believe that when a police officer asks to speak with you that you have no choice but to comply with the request. In reality, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Charter) affords everyone with many protections in these situations.

Section 9 of the Charter protects individuals from arbitrary detentions. A “detention” occurs when the police through words, or actions, force you to stop and remain with them. An obvious example of a detention is an arrest; the police by force ensure that you remain in their custody. However, a detention need not be so obvious; the police could simply say “stop” or “don’t move” and a detention would occur. Further, even less intrusive police conduct can cause a detention to occur such as a group of police officers surrounding you, an officer blocking your path in an intimidating manner; in these situations the police conduct can cause you to reasonably believe that you are not free to leave and these situations amount to “detentions” in law. Simply put, a detention occurs when the police's actions cause you to reasonably believe that you are not free to walk away. The police are only permitted to detain you when they have reasonable grounds to believe, or suspect, that you are engaged in criminal activity. If the police do not have the required grounds the detention is illegal and any evidence they obtain can be excluded at trial.

The difficulty for you, and all other the citizen, being asked by the police officer for a conversation is that you do not know if the police have reasonable grounds to force you to remain. The ambiguity caused by this reality can easily be resolved, simply tell the police officer that you do not wish to speak to him or her and ask “Am I free to leave?” If the police officer tells you that you are free to leave, you can simply walk away. If the police officer tells you that you are not free to leave you are now detained and have to remain until they allow you to leave. When you are detained, section 10(a) of the Charter requires the police to tell you why you are being detained, and section 10(b) of the Charter requires them to provide you with the opportunity to speak to a lawyer in private as soon possible. When you are detained, you are also under no obligation to say anything to the police, you do not have to answer any of their questions or even give them your name and address; you are free to say absolutely nothing to the police. The police may make you feel like you have to answer their questions but the law allows you to remain silent. If you do chose to speak to the police anything you say must be the truth to avoid being charged criminally.