Mr. Chair, committee members, thank you for inviting me to appear.
I am a professor and researcher at the faculty of medicine and health sciences at the Université de Sherbrooke. My main research areas are impaired driving and young drivers.
In fact, I too would like to offer you suggestions for clarification of the new subsection 320.27(3), which deals with random testing and its definition. I would suggest that the wording of the proposal be clarified. Can we talk about random testing, mandatory testing during specific police action to reduce impaired driving, or mandatory testing at any time under any circumstances when operating a vehicle? There are significant differences between these three definitions.
First of all, when we talk about something random, we often say that it is done or chosen haphazardly. So a string of random tests should be generated, for example, using a sequence of random numbers. That sequence would indicate which vehicles should be stopped to subject the driver to a breathalyzer, or which drivers stopped for various reasons by the police should provide a breath sample. These random techniques are already used by customs officers, who can ask travellers to press a button on a device, which will indicate whether the person will have to undergo a full search.
The word “mandatory” will be defined as “that which is required by law, and which cannot be escaped”. Therefore, the word “random” is not a synonym for the word “mandatory”, whether it's considered during specific police actions or at any time and under any circumstances when operating a vehicle. However, the words “random” and “mandatory” could be used to describe two types of compatible activities, which I will describe later.
The definition of “random testing” found in subsection 320.27(3) is instead similar to the description of mandatory testing, at any time and under any circumstances, when operating a vehicle. It in no way suggests the notion of randomness or of reasonable grounds. It even suggests the obsolescence of reasonable grounds since mandatory testing at any time will include reasonable grounds.
So, it seems to me that the definition in subsection 320.27(3) allows mandatory screening other than that done in the context of specific police action to reduce impaired driving in which all drivers are stopped. The wording also suggests that mandatory testing could be done by officers of the peace who work singly or in pairs. It does not include the screening of all drivers without the need for reasonable grounds to suspect alcohol consumption.
I would suggest supervising these police actions that don't involve the systematic mandatory inspection of all drivers. It might be possible, for instance, to use a random sequence to determine which vehicles to stop, or a random sequence of controlled drivers, once they have been stopped for various reasons. A random sequence could be archived to show the public the random nature of the requested mandatory testing, and also to protect the work of the police. This involves combining the random selection, made at random, with the mandatory testing. Random selection could also be used when there are high traffic volumes, for example, and the police don't want to stop everyone.
In short, it is recommended that the meaning of the terms “random” and “mandatory” be clarified. In addition, there is a grey area in the definition of mandatory testing in the circumstances in which all drivers are not tested systematically and there aren't reasonable grounds to suspect alcohol consumption. Therefore, combining random testing and mandatory testing in these circumstances could help to make the public feel that their rights are being respected, while participating in the demonstration that the probability of being tested is high. It would also help to protect the work of the police.
I would like to raise another point. Mandatory alcohol checks seem associated with reducing impaired driving. however, as the document prepared by the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse summarizes well, the number of checks that should be done in Canada to reach reduction targets is in the millions.
This will require that, in tandem with the changes, the provinces and police forces need to be given the capacity to put in place these procedures relating to educating the public, police officers and judges. It will also be important to think about the costs and the personnel required on the ground.
In addition, considering the scope of the proposed bill and its ramifications for the codes of the various provinces, as well as the need to inform and train all parties, I suggest an effective date much later than 90 days. There must be a minimum of nine to 12 months on the ground so that all stakeholders can be ready and fully understand all the proposed changes. The objectives could therefore be achieved much more effectively.
I also wish to give my support to paragraph 320.27(2)(d), which states that the fact that the person's involvement in an accident that resulted in bodily harm to another person may amount to reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has alcohol in their body. I think this initiative is important both on the ground, after a collision, and to screen injured drivers who are sent to the hospital.
On one hand, adding the involvement in a collision to the reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has consumed alcohol gives police the ability to identify the collision as a reasonable ground, whey they often had difficulty doing before. On the other hand, paragraph 320.27(2)(d) is a possibility for the police, and not an obligation. I think that mandatory testing is necessary in the case of a collision with injuries.
If testing becomes mandatory or more easily constitutes a reasonable ground to suspect that a person has consumed alcohol, it does not mean that it will be applied systematically. My general suggestion is that the provinces and heads of the police forces in the various jurisdictions strongly suggest to the police that they apply testing, otherwise take the necessary measures to systematically test all drivers involved in collisions with injuries who are taken to the hospital.
The information collected as part of these actions could help to demonstrate that the probability of being tested is high, which is what everyone wants. It would also help to better assess the extent of alcohol use in collisions with injuries.
To conclude, I would also like to extend my support to the elements that will enable police officers to take samples from injured drivers at the site of an accident. We know that the majority of drivers who are injured in a collision and taken to the hospital and whose blood alcohol above the legal limit are not convicted. A review of the 2015 documentation by Robert S. Green and his colleagues, which covers five Canadian studies, reveals that the conviction rate in these cases is below 20%. Several factors explain these low rates. In particular, there is the difficulty in identifying the type of intoxication and obtaining an eligible sample. There is also a lack of resources to apply the law properly.
The changes to the act, including paragraph 320.27(2)(d) that adds collisions with injuries to the reasonable grounds to suspect that a person has consumed alcohol, and the changes that describe the procedure for issuing warrants—think of the longer delays in obtaining them—will make it possible to consider several problems described in the review of the documentation.
However, it's also important to note the need for more assistance in applying the legislation. It sometimes takes the police a long time to proceed in the case of hospitalization. I strongly suggest giving the police forces the capacity to use these new procedures to maximize their effectiveness.
