Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Mr. Chair, vice-chairs, and members of the committee, good afternoon.
The Quebec Bar thanks you for inviting us today to share our views with you on Bill C-46.
My name is Ana Victoria Aguerre. I am a lawyer and secretary to the Quebec Bar's criminal law committee. Today, I am accompanied by Pascal Lévesque, the president of the criminal law committee, and by Benoît Gariépy, a member of the criminal law committee, but also a lawyer who specializes in impaired-driving cases.
As you know, Bill C-46 introduces a series of major amendments to the Criminal Code, specifically by proposing a new impaired driving offence, new powers for the police in order to test for it, and new rules for the administration and admissibility of evidence in such cases.
At the outset, we must stress that the Quebec Bar supports the lawmakers' intent that led to the introduction of Bill C-46. Impaired driving is a major issue of public safety that clearly must be addressed. Nevertheless, the solutions that Bill C-46 proposes in this respect seem to us to be problematic in their implementation and, in our view, go far beyond what is reasonable in terms of the basic rights of the accused.
Given the amount of time we have been allowed for our presentation, we will move directly to the crux of the matter.
The Quebec Bar is opposed to a number of the proposed amendments in the bill and is concerned that some of those amendments will be challenged in the courts. We are concerned about the potential impact of these amendments, the majority of which seem disproportionate against the background of deterrence and awareness that the bill seeks. The concerns are specifically about the fundamental rights that everyone enjoys to be presumed innocent and to make full answer and defence.
I will now step aside to allow Mr. Lévesque to continue.