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OTTAWA — The Supreme Court says Canadians can expect the text messages they send to remain private — at least in some instances — even after the messages reach their destination.

In a potentially significant 5-2 ruling today, the high court set aside the firearms convictions of a man whose messages were found by Toronto police on the mobile phone of an alleged accomplice.

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The court says Nour Marakah had a reasonable expectation of privacy concerning the messages, meaning he had a right to challenge the police search of the phone as a violation of his guarantees under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In her reasons for the majority, Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin notes that Marakah was the author of the text messages introduced as evidence against him, that he expected the electronic conversation to remain private and that he asked the recipient numerous times to delete the messages.