NCJ Number
92019
Date Published
1983
Length
34 pages
Annotation
This report of Canada's Law Reform Commission considers a number of possible changes that might be made to the existing breathalyzer provisions of the Criminal Code so as to correct perceived deficiencies, with attention to achieving a balance between individual liberties and the provision of adequate police powers for crime prevention and control.
Abstract
The report recommends that police be allowed to demand blood samples for those suspected of impaired driving or impaired operation of vessels and aircraft, but only under the most stringent safeguards. Under the Commission's proposed changes to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1983, blood tests could also be taken where an accident victim is unconscious, but such a blood test would require judicial approval in the form of a telephone warrant and would be subject to the approval of the doctor in charge of treating the injured person. The report recommends that current provisions in the Criminal Code allowing for breathalyzer tests of those reasonably suspected of impairment be maintained, but it also recommends that where a suspect has been asked for a breathalyzer test, he/she can also demand that the officer grant a blood test. Further, the officer would be required to inform the suspect of his/her right to such a blood test. Similarly, a person from whom a blood sample has been taken would be entitled to have half the sample sent to an independent analyst. The report goes into considerable detail regarding whether the recommendations violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, with the overall assessment being that they do not. Fifty-nine notes are provided.