Justice committee  Well, if we have the time. We currently have two approved instruments and one approved screening device still on our books that we're doing work on. As I say, it becomes increasingly difficult, given our schedules.

Justice committee  I've always considered the Canadian system to be superior to any in the world, but I may be somewhat biased. My predecessors on this committee certainly have led the way through the years with developing a program in Canada that was seen as being world leading.

Justice committee  All I can say is that until the alcohol task committee has had time to do greater study of the ones that are proposed, we can't give you specific data on that question, although we certainly would be able to look at it.

Justice committee  Yes. For the purpose of the record, I'm holding up a device. This happens to be the Alco-Sensor FST. This is the device that the manufacturers suggest.... The passive detection area is on the top. There are three different types of passive detection with this device that they o

Justice committee  You can also use it the other way. You can use it in a passive ambient way and just stick it into the environment, but they suggest otherwise to get the most accurate determination correlating with the actual subject. I'm using the manufacturer's information here. This is not d

Justice committee  I don't think there is any doubt that officers can and do make mistakes. I think false negatives are certainly a possibility. False positives are also a possibility, because of certain odours that may be mistaken for alcohol. I am not called to the bar, nor am I a lawyer of a

Justice committee  —but certainly the odour is not the only thing that is used in forming reasonable suspicion to demand a screening device. I've heard enough trials to know that. This wouldn't be much different from that, but it adds another layer. I should comment at this point that something I'

Justice committee  I have never been shy in writing my budgets to ask for more money. With our current staffing, we're nine members. We should be at 10; one member has finished their term. With our current staffing level and the volunteer nature of our activities, that's why I'm opining years. If

Justice committee  Not without studying them and testing them. Scientists are driven with data, and I do not have the data to assist this committee at this time.

Justice committee  Well, certainly I can speak somewhat to the temperature issue. That paper is American, so I think they said it was 48 degrees, which we all know to be Fahrenheit. These devices—at least the ones I'm familiar with, and the ones I would recommend—utilize fuel cell technology as th

Justice committee  It may have some impact. I'm thinking about the potential for.... I spend a lot of my time in court, and I'm thinking about the potential for suggestion of external environmental influences. Currently with an approved screening device, the officer has a look in the car to make

Justice committee  That could affect the approved screening device test if there had been recent consumption. With this type of detection, I don't think it's much of a leap to suggest that the officers will now be asked if they investigated any spills in the car, if there was anything.... Was the

Justice committee  Yes. I speak from my experience of over 20 years in criminal trials. I'm not suggesting that those things are real possibilities; I'm suggesting that it will have to be carefully assessed so that we can be ready for challenges of that nature. Part of that may be deciding what s

Justice committee  I think it's possible. The mouthwash I tested yesterday in my lab certainly did. I didn't swish it around my mouth and spit it out and try it that way, but I waved the passive detector over the top of it.

Justice committee  Well, as I say, at 6 o'clock in the morning, I wasn't using mouthwash in the lab, but I did open the bottle we have in our breath testing room—we use it for testing our instruments and demonstrating to police officers—and both of the devices I had reacted to it. It was in close p