Thank you, Mr. Cooper.
Certainly that could be a concern. However, in my practice, I don't see it.
Police officers have the training, and if they don't have the training and they feel they can't detect impaired drivers with the resources, the tools, and the skills they already have, then we have a problem.
Police officers are able to stop a vehicle for almost any reason in this country, and they're able to engage with the motorist. They can make observations of that motorist about how they look and how they're acting. They can even go so far as to have the motorist blow in their face, or blow into their hands and put breath into their face. That has been ruled by the B.C. Court of Appeal to be a valid measure to be deployed by police officers.
Once they detect an odour of liquor on the breath, no matter what that order is—faint, moderate, strong, stale, or fresh—that, according to the Alberta courts, is enough to make that ASD demand at the roadside. Couple this with the fact that police officers can also ask questions of drivers. They can ask them whether they have been drinking and when their last drink was.
More often than not, drivers are forthcoming. I certainly see that when it comes to my clients. They're more than willing to start talking to a police officer and explain to them, “Oh, but I only had a drink two hours ago.” Well, guess what. Now the officer has a reasonable suspicion and they are able to issue that ASD demand.