Pubdate: Thu, 24 May 2018
Source: National Post (Canada)
Copyright: 2018 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/wEtbT4yU
Website: http://www.nationalpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286
Author: Brian Platt

CANADA: SENATORS VOTE TO REMOVE RANDOM ROADSIDE ALCOHOL TESTING FROM 
IMPAIRED DRIVING BILL

The government's leader in the Senate, Peter Harder, slammed the
committee's removal of the provision

OTTAWA - In a controversial move that may set up another showdown with
the House of Commons, a Senate committee voted on Wednesday night to
remove random alcohol testing from the government's impaired driving
legislation.

The provision would allow police to demand a breathalyzer test from
any driver regardless of whether police had reasonable grounds to
believe the driver had consumed alcohol. Currently police need that
reasonable suspicion to make the breathalyzer demand, which drivers
are punished for refusing.

There has been heated debate over whether random testing is
constitutional, as section eight of the Charter protects against
unreasonable search and seizure. The government points to evidence
that random testing has caused impaired driving rates to drop steeply
in countries that have it, such as Australia and Ireland.

Conservative Sen. Denise Batters moved the amendment, arguing that
random testing (also referred to as mandatory screening) would cause
further delays in the courts as drivers fought against it.

"We had criminal defence lawyers with lengthy careers in this field
tell us that these provisions would lead to a decade of Charter
challenge litigation," she said. "They called it Christmas."

The 6-5 vote to remove random testing from Bill C-46 was largely
pushed through by five Conservative senators, with a key tie-breaking
vote from Sen. Serge Joyal, a formal Liberal MP who was appointed to
the Senate by then-Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Sen. Jim Munson, filling in for the other Liberal seat on the
committee, abstained in the vote. Liberal senators are no longer part
of the Liberal caucus, as part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's
effort to make the Senate more independent.

All five independent senators on the committee, appointed by Trudeau,
voted against.

Sen. Marc Gold, a former Osgoode Hall law professor, tried to persuade
the committee to vote down the amendment.

"I think the government has made a policy choice in the interests of
reducing the harm caused by drunk driving," he said.

"It is true that we've heard a lot of testimony from lawyers and law
professors about the infringements of the Charter that random and
mandatory testing necessarily entails, but we also had evidence to the
contrary from eminent scholars in their own right who believe, as the
government does, that the mandatory alcohol testing is justified under
the Charter of Rights."

When the House of Commons was studying the bill, for example,
constitutional expert Peter Hogg testified that he believed random
testing would be Charter compliant because driving is already a highly
regulated activity. He believed courts would accept this further
requirement due to the danger caused by impaired driving.

The government's leader in the Senate, Peter Harder, slammed the
committee's removal of the provision.

"Baffling that Conservative Senators voted at committee to gut a bill
that cracks down on drunk driving," he posted on Twitter. "Mandatory
roadside alcohol screening is saving lives in other countries and
should be included in Bill C-46."Baffling that Conservative Senators
voted at committee to gut a bill that cracks down on drunk driving.
Mandatory roadside alcohol screening is saving lives in other
countries and should be included in Bill C-46. #SenCA #cdnpoli- Peter
Harder  May 24, 2018

Mothers Against Drunk Driving also said it is "extremely disappointed
and frustrated" over the amendment.

Bill C-46 was introduced in 2017 alongside Bill C-45, which legalizes
the use of recreational cannabis. C-46 also creates new powers and
penalties around drug-impaired driving, but the random testing
provision only applies to alcohol due to the unsettled science around
proving cannabis impairment.

The bill will now go back to the Senate chamber for a final vote,
where it could get amended again. If the Senate passes the bill
without random testing, it will go to the House of Commons, which
could reject the change and send it back to the Senate until both
sides agree on the final bill.

The unelected Senate typically relents if the Commons refuses to
accept its changes, but the back-and-forth procedure could delay the
passage of the bill.

Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould's office is expected to comment
on the amendment later on Thursday.
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MAP posted-by: Matt