OTTAWA MOVES LET POLICE TEST DRIVERS FOR DRUG IMPAIRMENT

OTTAWA -- The federal government introduced legislation yesterday that
would give police sweeping powers to charge drug-impaired drivers,
including intrusive physical testing that would allow them to take saliva,
blood and urine tests from motorists.

The new bill would amend the Criminal Code to give police the authority to
demand roadside standardized field sobriety tests when they have a
reasonable suspicion that a driver is impaired by drugs.

It would also give investigators the right to administer drug recognition
expert evaluations, known as DRE evaluations, in cases where the officer
reasonably believes a drug-impaired driving offence was committed. The
tests are administered at a police station after a driver fails a roadside
test. Police would be allowed to collect saliva, urine and blood samples to
determine whether the driver has drugs, including marijuana, in his or her
system. Refusal to comply would be a criminal offence.

"Ultimately, these provisions are about saving lives," Justice Minister
Irwin Cotler said after tabling the bill in the House of Commons.

"It's not that we're making something a criminal offence that is not," Mr.
Cotler said later. "The problem is that the police do not have the
authority to elicit the evidence that will be needed for prosecutorial
purposes."

The government wants to pass the legislation as quickly as possible because
"the whole question of drug-impaired driving has emerged as such a serious
offence and since a disproportionate number of fatalities occur as a result
of drug-impaired driving."

Mr. Cotler said the legislation, which is being introduced at the same time
the government is expediting a controversial bill to decriminalize
possession of small amounts of marijuana, will give authorities more tools
to charge and convict drug-impaired drivers.

Similar laws exist in most U.S. states and in Australia, New Zealand and
some European countries. Police in Quebec, British Columbia and Manitoba
already use DRE evaluations, but only when a suspect participates voluntarily.

"All we're doing is providing [police] with the necessary authority, the
necessary powers, in order to engage in drug-related testing in the same
way that they do alcohol-related testing."

The Criminal Code does not give police the authority to demand physical
sobriety tests or samples of body fluids for impaired-driving
investigations. However, if a driver voluntarily participates in physical
sobriety tests, the evidence is admissible on a Criminal Code charge.

Critics have accused the government of pressing ahead blindly with the
amendments as it fast-tracks new marijuana legislation.

The Canadian Professional Police Association has called on the federal
government to first implement a national drug strategy.

Spokeswoman Sophie Roux said the Ottawa-based association is reviewing the
bill thoroughly.

"We want to have a good read of the legislation first before commenting,"
she said. "We did participate in consulting on the issue of drug-impaired
driving."

The Canadian Bar Association has expressed concern that the new bill could
infringe on Charter rights, including the rights against unreasonable
search and arbitrary detention and the right to counsel.

"In our view," a submission from the association to the government on the
proposed legislation last December stated, "stopping a driver at the
roadside for intrusive physical testing, potentially followed by a breath
sample and then saliva or sweat swabs, would change the nature of the stop
so that the right to counsel would be engaged."

Mr. Cotler said the federal government believes the legislation will
withstand Charter challenges.

The new bill comes as Ottawa is planning to relax marijuana laws, making
possession of 15 grams of marijuana or less punishable by a fine instead of
a criminal offence.