This June a new law was introduced in the Provincial Legislature, called the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act. It was passed in July and it makes a number of changes to drinking and driving laws, giving additional powers to police.
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The new Federal and Provincial impaired driving laws give the police broad powers. Under these laws, police can stop drivers, demand samples, suspend driver’s licences and impound vehicles. These powers may even be unconstitutional.
“If I have outstanding criminal charges can I still to travel to the U.S.?”
“Will I be stopped at the U.S. border if they see I have a criminal record from the past?”
“If my criminal charges have been stayed, am I cleared to travel to the U.S.?”
Police in Canada have broad powers to arrest individuals whom they encounter. An arrest is a powerful tool that has serious legal implications for the arrested person. Importantly, an arrested person is not free to leave police custody and can no longer freely go about their business. Attempting to escape a lawful arrest can result in criminal charges, not to mention an unpleasant encounter with police.
On June 21, 2018, via Bill c-46, a few new amendments to the Criminal Code received Royal Assent, meaning that they formally became law (although some of the changes will not come into force until December 21, 2018). These amendments deal with the offences and procedures for impaired and drug-impaired driving and are likely to have a significant impact on anyone driving on Alberta’s roads.
These changes are generally thought to coincide with the legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada. Indeed, a number of the amendments concern drug-impaired driving. However, the federal government also appears to have taken this opportunity to make significant changes to alcohol-impaired driving offences and procedures.
Bill c-46 introduces a number of amendments to the Criminal Code, as well as other, related legislation.
Bill c-46 creates new drug-impaired driving offences. In so doing, the amendments set out new legal limits for drug-blood concentration, and create the necessary framework to allow police to conduct tests to determine if a driver is impaired by drugs using approved screening equipment. The Bill includes a host of other small changes associated with adding these new offences.
Among the most controversial changes are the new police powers added by Bill c-46 and changes to the penalties for drug-impaired or alcohol-impaired driving. Bill c-46 gives police the power to perform random roadside breath testing for alcohol without the need for reasonable grounds to suspect that a driver may be impaired. Bill c-46 also raises the maximum penalty for a first-time impaired offence from 5 years to 10 years, where the Crown proceeds by indictment.
During the review process for Bill c-46, some Senators raised concerns that the amendments might not comply with the requirements of the Charter. The Senators expressed concerns that the new laws might be vulnerable to challenges in court and might be declared
unconstitutional
