Now this is scary!
Imagine a neighbour doesn't like you. They see you drinking in your backyard and make an anonymous call to the Cops. They show up and make you take a breathalyzer. You blow over 0.05% and bam, you lose your licence on the spot.
Talk about a stupid law and an abuse of power. I want to see a constitutional challenge on this. I'm all for getting drunk drivers off the road, but this is ridiculous.
Imagine a neighbour doesn't like you. They see you drinking in your backyard and make an anonymous call to the Cops. They show up and make you take a breathalyzer. You blow over 0.05% and bam, you lose your licence on the spot.
Talk about a stupid law and an abuse of power. I want to see a constitutional challenge on this. I'm all for getting drunk drivers off the road, but this is ridiculous.
VICTORIA — Lee Anne Lowrie was in a panic after receiving a phone call from the RCMP saying they had a personal issue to discuss with her.
“I thought something had happened to someone in my family.” she said.
It was Saturday, April 13, and the Nanaimo woman had travelled to Maple Ridge for a medical appointment. When the appointment was over, Lowrie and her boyfriend went to a local pub. Each had a drink and some appetizers.
They left the restaurant about 3:30 p.m. and drove to her sister’s home, arriving about 3:40 p.m., Lowrie said.
“They intended to spend the afternoon and evening at her sister’s house, so they had a few drinks when they got back there,” said Victoria lawyer Jennifer Teryn.
But just before 5:30 p.m., the RCMP called Lowrie. Lowrie gave police the address and at 6 p.m. five police officers were standing in her sister’s driveway.
The officers told Lowrie they had received an anonymous complaint that she had consumed “multiple alcoholic beverages” before getting into a pickup and driving away from the restaurant at 4:53 p.m.
Police pulled out an alcohol screening device and asked Lowrie to blow.
Lowrie told the officer her last sip of alcohol was two minutes earlier. The officers delayed the first test by 15 minutes. Lowrie failed.
Police towed her vehicle and gave her an immediate roadside prohibition, also known as an IRP. Her truck was impounded for 30 days and she lost her licence for 90 days. She faced a $500 fine and would have had to pay $930 for a responsible driving program and $250 to reinstate her driver’s licence.
Teryn, who has conducted more than 300 reviews of immediate roadside prohibitions, said police had no legal authority to make Lowrie blow into the screening device.
With managing partner Jerry Steele, Teryn has been fighting changes to Canada’s impaired driving laws that came into effect in December.
The new laws give police the power to demand a breath sample from any driver they lawfully stop. Previously, police had to have a reasonable suspicion a driver had alcohol in his or her body before demanding a roadside breath test.
Police can demand a test within two hours of a driver being on the road, even after someone has returned home and consumed alcohol.
Fortunately, Lowrie video-recorded her interaction with the officers, said Teryn.
In a report to the Office of the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, a police officer alleged Lowrie was slurring her words.
“Her speech is not slurred at all. The video shows that,” said Teryn.
The police report also said Lowrie did not make a second request to blow into the screening device, which Teryn said is not true.
“That’s a lie and we know it’s a lie because there’s video evidence to prove this,” said Teryn. “Lee very explicitly asks for a second test on the video.”
The police provided false evidence, she charged.
“They used the mandatory screening demand inappropriately. They were wrong to do it, but they believed they were lawfully entitled to do it,” said Teryn.
Lowrie hired Teryn, who got the IRP revoked.
“I was drinking at home. I didn’t do anything wrong. I’m totally innocent,” said Lowrie. “My rights were being challenged. At this point, we’re guilty until proven innocent. I felt intimidated, violated, and I’ve never had a problem with police. I’m a law-abiding, taxpaying citizen.”
Teryn has launched what’s likely to be the first constitutional challenge to changes in Canada’s impaired driving laws. Client Norma McLeod, a 76-year-old cancer survivor, has applied to the B.C. Supreme Court for a judicial review of an immediate roadside prohibition. She was hit with the suspension for failing to provide a proper sample, something impossible for her because of her medical condition.
https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/nanaimo-woman-wins-legal-fight-over-police-allegations-of-drinking-and-driving