Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Welcome back, Minister, and it's good to see your officials again.
I want to concentrate my line of questioning specifically on proposed section 320.27 because you have made some comments about the mandatory versus random nature of this law. When police exercise their considerable powers under the Criminal Code, they usually have to show a reasonable suspicion that an offence has occurred in order to administer those powers, either to detain someone or bring him or her in for further questioning. The way this proposed section is written, yes, a police officer has to lawfully stop someone on the road, either through speeding or a broken tail light, but then the decision on whether to administer a breath sample is entirely up to the officer.
The real danger here is what whims will affect the police officer's decision to administer that breath sample. How is the Department of Justice going to implement that training to ensure that we are not disproportionately affecting certain groups of society more than others?
The way the law is written, there's no real follow-up allowed with the officer to ask, “What made you administer the test?” It seems to be entirely discretionary on the part of the officer, whereas before they had to prove a reasonable suspicion. I'm just wondering, how is the Department of Justice going to make sure that this training is instituted in a proper way and that officers are acting with the best intention for all their actions?