An Ontario Provincial Police request for voluntary DNA samples in the Sonia Varaschin murder investigation has bristled members of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, who claim the request is an invasion of personal privacy.
Nathalie Des Rosiers, general counsel for the CCLA, says police should not be allowed to ask for DNA samples without a sound legal reason, and should seek judicial authorization before requesting people comply.
"This process is completely outside the realm of what we expected. It is outside of the law, in a way," Des Rosiers told CTV Toronto on Wednesday. "What police are doing is going on consent, asking people to come forward. But what they should have done, and what our system demands them to do, is get evidence and then they go get judicial authorization to get more evidence."
The objection comes as OPP in Orangeville, Ont., look to reinvigorate an eight-month investigation into the murder of 42-year-old Sonia Varaschin.
Investigators are now requesting DNA samples from people who may have been connected to Varaschin before her death.
Police say Varaschin was murdered in her Orangeville, Ont., home and her body was disposed of in a wooded area nearby, where she was found on Sept. 5. Authorities say she may have known her attacker.
Investigators are now looking into some conflicts Varaschin had in her life and work places before she died.
Officers are requesting certain people, specifically men, submit to voluntary DNA testing in an attempt to compare it to DNA found during the investigation.
OPP Const. Peter Leon says the DNA samples will help pare down the list of potential suspects and help focus the investigation in the right direction.
"The message to the killer is this: we have your DNA, and it is only a matter of time," Leon told reporters on Wednesday.
"There is no obligation for an individual to provide a sample. But if they refuse there has to be a reason for them refusing to do so, and that will form part of our investigation."
Leon said the collection of samples could take weeks and the testing would take even longer, but that he expects people with nothing to hide will have no problem submitting a sample.
Des Rosiers says police are missing the point, and that they shouldn't be able to ask people to share their DNA. She said the police should ask for permission from a judge, so the public is confident it is not just a witch hunt.
"It would have to be preauthorized, that is how our system works and that is our concern. Outside of this preauthorization and supervision, I think it is very dangerous," Des Rosiers said.
While the request for voluntary DNA samples is a rare step, Toronto police used a similar technique to find the killer of 10-year-old Holly Jones in 2003.
Investigators have promised that the swab will only be used to compare DNA recovered during the Varaschin investigation and will be destroyed at the end of the investigation.
They have also asked people to be aware of how people react to the request for DNA samples, and to contact the Orangeville Police Service if anyone exhibits strange behaviour or abruptly moves away as a result of the notification of this DNA canvas.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney
