While we're not at my Liberal motion, I need this information in order to determine whether or not I proceed. There is a major criminal trial going on, as we speak, in Quebec. While impaired driving trials, I've been told by criminal experts, normally take a couple of days at the most, this trial has actually been scheduled for 25 days.
The principal issue at hand is the fact that notwithstanding the guidelines about the maintenance of the breathalyzer machines in the police stations, notwithstanding the manufacturer's recommendations as to how to go about maintaining the machines, how to go about ensuring that they're properly calibrated, etc., with the particular police force in question, the defence is attempting to show that in fact the police force does not follow the manufacturer's guidelines in terms of the maintenance and does not follow the guidelines that are established by the committee, that you're talking about.
That's why the defence lawyers are so concerned about the issue of the two-beer defence being removed.
So my concern is that should amendment G-4 carry and my motion not carry, would that mean then that the burden would be on the defence to show that the machine had not been properly maintained according to the guidelines set out by the manufacturer? Or would the burden be on the Crown--because that's the objective of my motion--in the same way as the burden is on the Crown to show that the technician was properly qualified, that the analyst provides a certificate, etc.?