A 'significant erosion of rights': Sask. defence lawyer on proposed impaired driving laws

A Regina lawyer says proposed impaired driving lawsintroduced by the federal government last week area terrible "step backwards" for the rights of all Canadians.

Bob Hrycansays it is not lost on him that it was the current Prime Minister's father, Pierre Trudeau, who made sure the country had a Charter of Rights.

"He implemented the Charter as a means to protect citizens from the overreach of government," Hrycan said. "What Justin Trudeau is doing is essentially advancing government overreach. I think that's unfair."

Right now, Hrycan saysdriversare protected fromunfair searches including complying with a breathalyzer unless a police officer has a reasonable suspicionthat the driver has been drinking.

The new law would removethat requirement for officers.

"Not only can they pull you over for any reason, they can demand breath samples from you for no reason," Hrycan said.

"So that's a significant erosion of rights."

Saliva testing for drugs

When it comes to testing for drug use, police must still have a "reasonable suspicion" that a driver has been using drugsbefore requiring a saliva test.

However, Hrycan said the threshold oftwo nanograms of THC (the main psychoactive compound in cannabis)could be in a person's body for weeks after they were actually impaired.

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"That means that if you occasionally smoke a joint you can be pulled over, detained and subject to screening within 10 days after smoking that joint," Hrycan said. "That's fundamentally unfair."

Hrycan says there is no doubt the new laws will face a constitutional challenge, but until those cases work their way to the Supreme Court he says the federal government has created more confusion about impaired driving in Canada.

"We're not going to have more certainty," Hrycan said. "We're actually going to have more uncertainty. And that's regretable."

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