Several elements must be present to conclude that a person is in possession of an object. The person must of course have the object on him. But it doesn’t have to be in his hands for there to be possession. This means that someone may be considered in possession of an object found in his pocket, bag, wallet or suitcase.

For example, let’s say that Paul steals a motorcycle. If he is found sitting on it, he’ll probably be considered to be in possession of it.

In addition, the evidence must demonstrate that the person had a certain level of control over the object and knew that he had it in his possession.

The definition of possession comes from the Criminal Code and applies to all criminal proceedings.

Possibly. We can conclude that there is possession based on the link between the place where the object is kept and the person who lives or works there. The presence of something in a person’s home, room, office, car or even locker can be enough to establish possession. For example, this might be the case if Paul keeps the motorcycle that he has just stolen in his garage, to which only he has access.

The situation becomes more complicated when several people have access to the place where the object is stored. For example, suppose that Jean and Pierre park their car in the same garage where Paul keeps his stolen motorcycle. In such a case, there are other criteria to consider – namely, knowledge and control. These ideas are explained below.

Yes. A person can be in possession of an object that he has stored somewhere or that he has asked another person to keep. For example, even if Paul stores his stolen motorcycle in Jean’s garage, Paul is still in possession of the car.

Yes. Possession can be joint (shared between two or more people). This is the case if one person has the object on him, with the knowledge and consent of the other joint possessors. For example, let’s say that Jean knows that the motorcycle Paul parked in the garage is stolen and, in addition, that Paul left a key to the motorcycle with Jean. Here, they are in joint possession.

In order for a person to be considered in possession of an object, she must have knowledge of that possession.

The expression “knowledge” means that the person must be aware that she is in possession of the object in question. Suppose Paul parks the stolen car in Jean’s garage while Jean is on vacation. Jean is not in possession of the car because he doesn’t even know that it’s in his garage.

Be careful: If you agree to be in possession of an object without asking questions or without worrying about what it is, you might still be considered to have knowledge. In law, this is called willful blindness. For example, let’s say Jean goes on a trip. At the airport, a few minutes before his departure, a stranger asks him to carry a package in exchange for $5,000 in cash. Jean accepts without asking what’s inside the package. Several minutes later, Jean is stopped by security—it turns out the package contains heroin. Jean cannot defend himself by saying that he didn’t know the package contained drugs. He has shown willful blindness to the possible contents of the package.

The idea of “control” is difficult to define. The law recognizes that there are certain situations in which someone might know that an illegal object is in a certain place, but not have any control over it.

Let’s say that Jean and Paul are roommates. Paul owns an assault rifle (a prohibited weapon). He keeps it locked in the living room and Jean does not have access to it. In this case, Jean is not in possession of the weapon because he has no control over it — even if he knows it is found in the house where he lives.

It is difficult to make a complete list of all of the criminal offences involving possession. Here are a few:

• possession of obscene material;
  
• possession of break-in instruments;
  
• possession of stolen objects or objects obtained illegally;
  
• possession of counterfeit money (fake banknotes, for example);
  
• possession of certain drugs;
  
• possession of prohibited or restricted weapons.

In addition, some of these offences require proof that the person knew about the illegal nature of the object. This is the case for the offence of possession of stolen goods. This offence requires proof that the person possessed the object with the knowledge that it was obtained illegally (for example, by stealing). Let’s say Jean agrees to keep Paul’s car in his garage for the winter. Paul does not tell him that the car in question was stolen. He says instead that he bought it on credit at the local dealership. Jean is not in possession of the object “with knowledge” that this object was stolen. He is therefore not commiting an offence.

On the other hand, ignorance of the law is no defence. For example, a person charged with possession of cannabis can’t defend himself by saying he didn’t know it was against the law to possess that substance. However, a person can defend herself against an accusation of cannabis possession if she truly thought the substance was something legal, like parsley.