LIBERALS TO INTRODUCE DRUG-DRIVING BILL

'Intrusive' legislation will result in flood of Charter challenges, lawyers
predict

The Martin government will introduce one of its first new pieces of
legislation on Monday -- a bill to help police nab Canadians who take drugs
and drive.

The initiative, which would suffer a quick death if a federal election is
called this spring, is considered necessary in light of proposed legislation
to decriminalize marijuana.

The drug-driving bill is Justice Minister Irwin Cotler's first original
legislative endeavour since assuming his portfolio in December.

"The minister believes that drug-impaired driving is a serious problem and
justifies changes to our laws to fight it," said Mr. Cotler's spokeswoman,
Denise Rudnicki.

While it is illegal to drive while under the influence of drugs, there has
been no reliable test for measuring drug impairment.

Unlike drunk driving, in which there is a measurable link between driving
ability and blood-alcohol levels, as measured by a breathalyser, research is
lacking to equate drug quantity and impairment.

Under a federal plan, the government would train police officers across
Canada to become experts in recognizing physiological symptoms of impairment
and then allow them to conduct physical tests at the roadside.

If a suspect fails -- and it is determined he or she is not impaired by
alcohol -- police could proceed to the next stage of saliva testing. The
procedure could then move to the police station, where police could demand
blood or urine samples.

Police currently rely on a driver's behaviour and witnesses to determine
drug use. Officers in B.C. are trained to administer roadside tests, but
there is no law that forces drivers to comply.

Lawyers say the new federal proposals are overly intrusive and give police
too much subjective leeway. They say this will virtually guarantee a barrage
of Charter of Rights court challenges.

The Canadian Bar Association, in a submission to the government, advocates
developing more solid and objective tests for a couple of drugs -- along
with a legal limit -- instead of trying to create a questionable
one-size-fits-all testing scheme.

The bar association cautions against rushing into legislation.

But Conservative justice critic Vic Toews says he thinks drug-driving
legislation can survive a constitutional challenge in Canada because it has
already done so in the U.S.

"If you're going to decriminalize marijuana and there's going to be an
expanded use of marijuana, we want to see more effective roadside
screening," Mr. Toews said. "I'm not sure whether this is the appropriate
mechanism, but I'm certainly supportive of efforts to detect drivers who are
intoxicated by drugs."

The decriminalization bill, a leftover from the Chretien era, is in its
final stages in the House of Commons. It proposes to impose fines instead of
criminal charges on people caught with fewer than 15 grams of marijuana.

The bill also stiffens penalties against marijuana grow operations.