Ottowa Considering Random Breath Testing for Drivers

Ottowa’s Justice Minister Rob Nicholson says he wants to give police the power to conduct random roadside tests to catch impaired drivers, but he intends to consult with his provincial counterparts before putting forward a proposed new law in Parliament.

Janice Tibbetts of Canwest News Service writes that if adopted, random breath testing would replace Canada’s 40-year-old legislation on impaired driving, which dictates that police can only administer breathalyzer testing if they have a reasonable suspicion of drunk driving.

“I support the recommendations but any changes would need consultation with the provinces,” Nicholson told Canwest News Service. His plans are contained in a written response to a recommendation from the all-party justice committee in June that Canada follow in the footsteps of several other countries that have imposed random testing.

Justice officials have been weighing the pros and cons of random testing for more than two years. The debate centers around whether the initiative, while it has proven internationally to be the most effective deterrent that exists to curtail drunk driving, would be a justifiable violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure.

“The government shares the committee’s concern that there has been an increase in deaths caused by impaired drivers in recent years and its determination to strengthen the Criminal Code provisions dealing with this crime that kills and injures thousands of Canadians every year,” Nicholson said in his one-page response to justice committee chair Ed Fast.

Nicholson said he would hold talks with the provinces “with a view to developing a comprehensive set of reforms.” He noted that the current breath-testing provisions are four decades old.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is a strong supporter of a new law, saying action is needed because progress in nabbing drunk drivers has stalled in the past decade, largely because the remaining culprits are a hardcore group that was never persuaded to drive sober.

MADD also says that research shows that even when impaired drivers are stopped at sobriety checkpoints, most go undetected so they are never tested. Police are even more likely to miss experienced drinkers, because they exhibit fewer signs of intoxication.

The justice committee, in its report, concluded that the "current methods of enforcing the law lead police officers to apprehend only a small percentage of impaired drivers, even at roadside traffic stops."
The report also noted that an Australian study showed a 36 percent decrease in the number of people killed in drunk-driving accidents after several states adopted random testing. An Irish study reported a 23 percent drop in traffic deaths after Ireland passed a similar law in 2006.

MADD, in a background paper, said most European countries and Australian states, as well as New Zealand, have adopted such laws, noting: "While random breath testing will be challenged under the charter, this should not deter Parliament from introducing a measure that has dramatically reduced alcohol-related crash deaths around the world and can do the same in Canada.”