Legal experts believe impaired driving law changes will give police excessive power if passed
With the legalization of cannabis just months away, Canada's top lawmakers have been busy drafting updated legislation for impaired driving. After getting a taste of the proposed changes last month, legal experts from around the country are concerned that some of the suggested implementations will give police an excessive degree of power and possibly violate some of our Charter rights.
If these changes were to be fully approved, police authority would be expanded in terms of how much cops can screen drivers for signs of intoxication. Even without reasonable suspicion, they would be able to stop drivers and demand a breath or saliva sample. Furthermore, police would also be in a position to charge people for having a specified level of substances in their blood within two hours of driving—meaning that an officer could arrive at someone's home well after he or she stopped driving and demand a test.
Currently, section eight of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that "everyone has the right to be secure against unreasonable search or seizure." Some Canadian legal experts believe that these changes would greatly impede that right. They take objection to both the notion that a cop could demand a full screening without reasonable suspicion of guilt and the possibility that someone could be arrested well leaving the roads.
Of course, there is a strong counter-argument to be made that being subject to sobriety checks should be a basic condition of having a license. Especially with cannabis becoming legal and potentially being in the systems of more drivers, it's easy to see the value in ramping up roadside police powers.
But Canadians will have to decide to what degree that is appropriate. With the proposed changes already on the table, the time for that conversation is now.