By Jill Sperling

Kamloops lawyer expresses concern over changes to impaired driving laws

Dec 18, 2018 | 2:57 PM

KAMLOOPS — The laws around impaired driving have changed. 

One of the most significant changes is the removal of the reasonable suspicion requirement for law enforcement to request a breath sample.

“Before, police officers had to have reasonable cause or had seen some driving evidence that suggested the person may have been impaired,” said Cpl. Jodi Shelkie of the Kamloops RCMP.  

“Now we can ask any person after we have done a traffic stop to have their breath tested on an approved screening device. And, that’s the major change that has happened in the criminal code.”

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According to the Department of Justice, the purpose of the new legislation is to strengthen impairment laws and ‘protect the public from those who consume large amounts of alcohol before driving.’

“It’s just another tool we can use to keep our roads safer,” Shelkie said. 

The changes don’t sit well with local lawyer Shawn Buckley. 

“We’ve lost one more freedom,” he said. “So, you know, a week ago we were free to drive around and the state didn’t have the right to force us to give a breath sample and now we no longer have that right. 

“The state has basically the absolute right to demand a breath sample which can be incriminating. So, we’ve lost a very fundamental freedom here and it’s something that generations ahead of us would not have tolerated.”

The new law also includes stricter penalties for impaired driving. 

“If the officer has the screening device, the officer can just demand that you blow into it and if you don’t blow into it you are now committing a criminal offence,” Buckley said. “You will get fined for your first offence, you will go to jail for 30 days your second offence and you’re going to go to jail for three months for your third offence plus you’re going to lose your license for the minimum of a year.” 

Buckley says there is no evidence to support an increase in penalties to this extent will reduce the behaviour of impaired driving. 

“I don’t want us to end up like the United States where basically we’re warehousing people in prisons and destroying families and destroying lives with no benefit to society,” he said.

Shelkie says if you have nothing to hide, there’s no reason to be alarmed. 

“If they’re not impaired there’s no concern then,” she said. “It’s a fairly easy process, It does go fairly quickly, so just take the screening device test and it will show that you’re not impaired.”

Buckley expects the legislation will be challenged and he is interested to see what the courts will do.