The arresting officer asked Mr. Owens: “Do you wish to call a lawyer now?” and Mr. Owens replied: “No, not right now.” The trial judge concluded that Mr. Owens did not invoke his right to consult with counsel. The Ontario Court of Appeal agreed and upheld the conviction for over 80:
In my view, the trial judge’s finding that the respondent did not invoke his right to consult counsel contains no palpable and overriding error that would permit appellate interference. On the facts of this case, it was open to the trial judge to find that the arguably ambiguous statement “No, not right now” did not qualify as an invocation of the right to counsel. The Supreme Court has also made clear that police implementational obligations flowing from s. 10(b) are not absolute. Absent invocation of the right to counsel and reasonable diligence in its exercise by the detainee, police duties to provide a reasonable opportunity to consult counsel and to refrain from soliciting evidence will either not arise in the first place or will be suspended. R. v. Owens, 2015 ONCA 652