Thank you.
I haven't done a Breathalyzer test for 20 years, so my experience is somewhat dated. I was a Breathalyzer technician for four years; I did about 440 tests and received my training at the Centre of Forensic Sciences in Toronto. They, at that point in time, and I believe still today, administered the provincial Breathalyzer system in Ontario and did the certification of the machines and the training for police officers.
Certainly the machines have probably changed since I was doing tests 20 years ago, but they were a fairly simple device in which issues of calibration and that type of thing weren't really a significant concern. I understand the point about the confidence of the judiciary, but I'm not sure that the adequacy of the device, or the instrument itself, is the reason we're seeing the problems with the conviction rate.
In many cases the reading is not the issue; it seems to be more an issue around the procedures followed by the officer up until the time of arrest--from the time of the arrest until the time the Breathalyzer samples were taken--and then other factors that the defence may call into question during their examination. Certainly if there was a belief, or if it was established, that the confidence in the equipment is an issue, then perhaps that type of step would be necessary. But certainly, that wasn't my experience during my time.