Pubdate: Tue, 27 Apr 2004
Source: Globe and Mail (Canada)
Copyright: 2004, The Globe and Mail Company
Contact:  http://www.globeandmail.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/168
Page: A4
Author: Kim Lunman

OTTAWA MOVES LET POLICE TEST DRIVERS FOR DRUG IMPAIRMENT

OTTAWA -- The federal government introduced legislation yesterday that 
would give police sweeping powers to charge drug-impaired drivers, 
including intrusive physical testing that would allow them to take saliva, 
blood and urine tests from motorists.

The new bill would amend the Criminal Code to give police the authority to 
demand roadside standardized field sobriety tests when they have a 
reasonable suspicion that a driver is impaired by drugs.

It would also give investigators the right to administer drug recognition 
expert evaluations, known as DRE evaluations, in cases where the officer 
reasonably believes a drug-impaired driving offence was committed. The 
tests are administered at a police station after a driver fails a roadside 
test. Police would be allowed to collect saliva, urine and blood samples to 
determine whether the driver has drugs, including marijuana, in his or her 
system. Refusal to comply would be a criminal offence.

"Ultimately, these provisions are about saving lives," Justice Minister 
Irwin Cotler said after tabling the bill in the House of Commons.

"It's not that we're making something a criminal offence that is not," Mr. 
Cotler said later. "The problem is that the police do not have the 
authority to elicit the evidence that will be needed for prosecutorial 
purposes."

The government wants to pass the legislation as quickly as possible because 
"the whole question of drug-impaired driving has emerged as such a serious 
offence and since a disproportionate number of fatalities occur as a result 
of drug-impaired driving."

Mr. Cotler said the legislation, which is being introduced at the same time 
the government is expediting a controversial bill to decriminalize 
possession of small amounts of marijuana, will give authorities more tools 
to charge and convict drug-impaired drivers.

Similar laws exist in most U.S. states and in Australia, New Zealand and 
some European countries. Police in Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba 
already use DRE evaluations, but only when a suspect participates voluntarily.

"All we're doing is providing [police] with the necessary authority, the 
necessary powers, in order to engage in drug-related testing in the same 
way that they do alcohol-related testing."

The Criminal Code does not give police the authority to demand physical 
sobriety tests or samples of body fluids for impaired-driving 
investigations. However, if a driver voluntarily participates in physical 
sobriety tests, the evidence is admissible on a Criminal Code charge.

Critics have accused the government of pressing ahead blindly with the 
amendments as it fast-tracks new marijuana legislation.

The Canadian Professional Police Association has called on the federal 
government to first implement a national drug strategy.

Spokeswoman Sophie Roux said the Ottawa-based association is reviewing the 
bill thoroughly.

"We want to have a good read of the legislation first before commenting," 
she said. "We did participate in consulting on the issue of drug-impaired 
driving."

The Canadian Bar Association has expressed concern that the new bill could 
infringe on Charter rights, including the rights against unreasonable 
search and arbitrary detention and the right to counsel.

"In our view," a submission from the association to the government on the 
proposed legislation last December stated, "stopping a driver at the 
roadside for intrusive physical testing, potentially followed by a breath 
sample and then saliva or sweat swabs, would change the nature of the stop 
so that the right to counsel would be engaged."

Mr. Cotler said the federal government believes the legislation will 
withstand Charter challenges.

The new bill comes as Ottawa is planning to relax marijuana laws, making 
possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less punishable by a fine instead of 
a criminal offence.
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MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart