In François c. R., 2021 QCCA 104 January 22, 2021, the accused was convicted of the offence of break and entry into a “dwelling-house”.  The entry was into a hotel room.  The accused appealed from conviction, arguing that “there must be evidence that the room is occupied as a residence within the ordinary meaning of that word, that is, a place where a person habitually resides”.

The appeal was dismissed.  The Quebec Court of Appeal concluded as follows (Unofficial English Translation, at paragraph 44):

This argument is not convincing. In accordance with the decision in Henderson, authors Manning, Mewett and Sankoff write the following in their treatise on criminal law: “A hotel room is kept or occupied as a temporary residence and is thus a dwelling-house”.  This conclusion is consistent with the wording of s. 2 Cr. C. and with the aim of making a dwelling-house an aggravating factor for breaking and entering. In doing so, Parliament sought to recognize the expectation of privacy of occupants when they are in their home.  The same expectation exists for occupants of a hotel room.