Thanks, Chair.
We're still back with the peace officer during the undertaking period, and the objective here is adding proposed subsection 501(3.1) as an additional condition. There already are others. This one would deal with the issue of an accused's level of dependence on a substance or alcohol, and it would say that, if the undertaking contains a condition about consuming alcohol or drugs, the consideration must be given to the level of dependency on the substance, and priority given to harm reduction measures rather than abstinence, to the extent that it is possible to do so without compromising the safety and security of a victim, a witness or the public.
It takes into account the very compelling testimony, again, that we heard about how people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs are reacting when these undertakings restrict their consumption but there's just no way they're going to ever be able to meet them.
There's a case in Alberta that has been referred to called R. v Omeasoo, a 2013 Alberta case where the judge said:
It is trite to say that conditions in an undertaking which the accused cannot or almost certainly will not comply with cannot be reasonable. Requiring the accused to perform the impossible is simply another means of denying judicial interim release.
The objective of NDP-5 is to address that reality.