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Is failing to provide a breath-sample a criminal offence in Canada? People often do not realize that refusing to provide a breath-sample is a criminal offence in Canada. This includes both an outright refusal or deliberately providing improper samples. What are the penalties for refusing to provide a breath-sample in Canada? Failing to give a […]
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21 Sep '17
Legalization leading to increased driving while impaired by marijuana? Legalized marijuana will lead to more impaired driving according to police representatives testifying before the House of Commons Justice Committee, which is hearing evidence about the government’s new impaired driving law, designed to coincide with the legalization of marijuana. The police expressed concern with the number […]
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- Impaired by Marijuana
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Parliament is considering new legislation which would radically alter impaired driving law in Canada. Many of the provisions likely violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and threaten the right to a fair trial. On September 29, 2016, the bill was before the Public Safety and National Security Committee. A copy of the bill can […]
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One of our drinking and driving cases was stayed in September for 2016, when the police were caught discussing their evidence during the trial. During criminal trials the judge usually prohibits witnesses from discussing their evidence. This is done to protect against one witness tainting another witness’ evidence. In our case, the police were found […]
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Our Francophone client was arrested for drinking and driving. At the police station she asked to speak to the French speaking civil or family lawyers who represented her. The police claimed that they tried to call both these lawyers, with no result. The police then put our client on the phone with Duty Counsel. Our […]
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Our client was recently found not guilty of failing to provide a roadside breath sample and impaired driving in Ottawa. The police pulled our client over for speeding. The officer demanded that our client provide a breath sample into a roadside approved screening device. The officer alleged that our client provided about ten insufficient samples, […]
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In R. v. Stoney, 2015 ONCJ 740, an Ontario man was acquitted of drinking and driving because of his treatment by the police in custody. He was arrested around 3:30 pm, but not released from police custody for another 12 hours. The judge entered a stay of proceedings because the man’s Charter rights were violated, […]
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In R. v. Quick, 2016 ONCA 95, the Court of Appeal overturned a guilty plea because the accused was not aware that an indefinite driver’s license suspension would be imposed under Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act. Quick’s counsel had not told him that because he had two previous drinking and driving convictions, his driver’s licence would […]
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In R. v. Cheema, 2016 ONCJ 61 the accused was held in a cell for four hours and 20 minutes after the failing the Brethalyzer tests. At trial, the judge ruled this violated the accused’s Charter right against arbitrary detention and arrest. The violation was not serious enough to exclude the breath readings as evidence. […]
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The prosecution sometimes needs to use a forensic toxicologist to calculate a driver’s blood alcohol content at the time of driving, by using the Intoxilyzer breath-readings at the police station. The toxicologist usually needs the driver’s weight to make this calculation. When a driver calls a lawyer at the police station, the lawyer should generally […]
Drinking and Driving
Brett McGarry
- 116 Lisgar Street, Suite 300, K2P 0C2 Ottawa, Ontario Canada
- brett@mcgarrylaw.ca
- 613-884-8576
- 613-691-1373