OTTAWA - In a controversial move that may set up another showdown with the House of Commons, a Senate committee voted on Wednesday night to remove random alcohol testing from the government's impaired driving legislation.
The provision would allow police to demand a breathalyzer test from any driver regardless of whether police had reasonable grounds to believe the driver had consumed alcohol. Currently police need that reasonable suspicion to make the breathalyzer demand, which drivers are punished for refusing.
There has been heated debate over whether random testing (also referred to as mandatory screening) is constitutional, as section eight of the Charter protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The government points to evidence that random testing has caused impaired driving rates to drop steeply in countries that have it, such as Australia and Ireland.
On Thursday afternoon, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould said she was "extremely disappointed" the Senate legal affairs committee had voted to remove it, and made it clear the government will insist on restoring random testing before passing Bill C-46 into law.
"Mandatory alcohol screening is the centrepiece of this legislation," she said. "We are determined to ensure that mandatory alcohol screening goes forward. Partisan politics has nothing to do with saving people's lives, and mandatory screening will save lives."
