By Janice Tibbetts and Kenyon Wallace
The Harper government appears ready to move ahead with imposing random roadside breath testing, which a new federal discussion paper says has produced "remarkable results" in catching drunk drivers in other countries.
The proposal has encountered skepticism, however, with civil liberties proponents warning that the new legislation could give police the power to detain drivers without reasonable grounds or suspicion.
"The reality is that it creates a bit of a police-state mentality in which an innocent person can be subjected to a whole host of testings," said Edward Prutschi, a Toronto criminal lawyer.
"One's going to have to put an awful lot of faith in the typical officer on the road because they are going to be given a dramatically expanded discretion -- basically absolute carte blanche -- to stop anyone, anywhere, anytime and demand breath alcohol testing."
Empowering police to conduct random tests would replace 40-year-old legislation, which says the Breathalyzer can be administered only when there is reasonable suspicion of drunk driving.
Justice Minister Rob Nicholson has already said he likes the idea, and Mothers Against Drunk Driving executive director Andrew Murie said the coming talks with interest groups and provincial governments are a sign the government could take action.
The Justice Department is inviting public input on the idea of random sobriety tests and federal officials plan to meet this month and next with provincial ministers and other experts to measure support. The federal government has posted a discussion paper on its website weighing the benefits of random testing and seeking feedback by the end of April.
Full article http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=2668391
Stumble It!
Empowering police to conduct random tests would replace 40-year-old legislation, which says the Breathalyzer can be administered only when there is reasonable suspicion of drunk driving
I suppose every law can be used for both good and evil. However, the deterioration in the training levels of Canada's constabulary would have a tendency to swing the pendulum more in the direction of "evil".
The quoted text above though, indicates that police officers have much leeway as it stands anyway. All they have to do is say they did indeed have "reasonable suspicion".
But this doesn't mean the civil liberties people shouldn't question everything any government does or proposes to do. Governments generally loathe liberty, democracy, and freedom...........