Alberta passes .05% law that was just declared unconstitutional in BC

PoliticalNick

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Mar 8, 2011
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So I gotta ask if the legislators in Alberta are unaware or just plain stupid. They have just passed a bill that enacts almost the same .05% drunk driving law that was only a few days ago struck down as unconstitutional in the BC Supreme Court. Are these morons thinking it would not be unconstitutional in a different province? Do they think the Charter of Rights does not apply in Alberta.

The National post doesn't like this law and seems to have facts to prove this isn't effective in targeting those drivers that are a danger to others.

Lorne Gunter: Alberta’s drunk driving law targets the wrong drivers | Full Comment | National Post
 

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
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I'm am allfor getting intoxicated individuals out from being behind the steering wheel. Having said that, I really don't understand why anyone would think tinkering with the limits of blood alcohol levels is going to do the trick. Even if it was made absolute zero, there would still be a certain segment of the population that would do it anyway. No matter how hard you try, you can never legislate away criminal behaviour. People are going to do what they are going to do.

Zero tolerance on the other hand is a different story. Use the laws as they are currently on the books and increase the consequences for breaking those laws. It is the consequences and not the laws themselves that act as a deterent.
 

wulfie68

Council Member
Mar 29, 2009
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I'm baffled that the Alberta gov't would do this as well, because as Lorne Gunther states, it DOES target the wrong drivers in a province that already leads the country in impaired drivers (per capita). If they want to infringe on federal jurrisdiction, they should at least be targeting the most dangerous drunks, not the least. Not an auspicious beginning to Premier Redford's tenure...
 

grumpydigger

Electoral Member
Mar 4, 2009
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If you read the news stories, they did not find the .05 civil convictions unconstitutional......

They found the way that they convicted the .08 criminal drivers unconstitutional...... because of the immediate license suspension and confiscation of cars by using a simple handheld roadside device that just said pass ,fail. with no ability to record the results.

Now they're forced, to take you back to the police station give you a real breathalyzer and allow you to talk to a lawyer and give you your day in court.........the RCMP are complaining about that because they say it takes up too much time
 

Spade

Ace Poster
Nov 18, 2008
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According to a WHO survey published in 2004:

• 28 percent of countries set the legal BAC limits between 0.0 and .03 g/dl;

• 39 percent of countries set the legal BAC limits between .04 and .06 g/dl; and

• 26 percent of countries have adopted limits above .06 g/dl
 

grumpydigger

Electoral Member
Mar 4, 2009
566
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Kelowna BC
Alberta passes .05% law that was just declared unconstitutional in BC................................................ Impaired driving convictions spark B.C. lawsuits - British Columbia - CBC News


Angry B.C. drivers have filed a flurry of lawsuits challenging the province's tough drunk driving laws, after a B.C. Supreme Court ruling last week, striking down parts of the legislation as unconstitutional.
Lawyer Jennifer Currie filed three petitions in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday on behalf of clients challenging driving prohibitions. All cited last week's decision against the section of the legislation dealing with people who blow over .08.
The ruling found 90-day suspensions and costly interlock devices too harsh for an offence drivers have limited means to appeal.
Police take a breathalyzer sample from a driver. CBCCurrie says she's been flooded with calls from people wondering what that means for them and she expects to see many more petitions in the weeks to come.
"I'm bombarded with phone calls everyday... It's very frustrating for a lot of people, and it's been very unfair to a lot of people," she said.
She says many hoped the ruling would force the province to give them their licenses back, but the justice who made the ruling has yet to make a final order on the future of the law.
So instead she says they're being forced to court.
"They're mad they got stuck in an unfair law.... They're frustrated with the money they spent and they're frustrated they have to go through this at all."
0.08 convictions ruled unfair

On Wednesday Justice J.S. Sigurdson ruled that B.C. was within its jurisdiction to put in place laws that target drivers with a blood alcohol content over 0.05 per cent, because the province should be allowed to regulate licensing of drivers and put in measures to enhance highway safety.
However, the judge also found that B.C.'s laws do violate the Charter when a driver is screened and found to fail a breathalyzer test by blowing above 0.08 per cent, as it gives the police power to impose criminal-like consequences with no opportunity given to the motorist to challenge the decision.
Sigurdson wrote in his decision that under criminal law, a driver has a number of protections that are essentially stripped under B.C.'s new law for drivers who fail the breathalyzer test at a level of 0.08 or above.
He asked the lawyers for both sides to return to make arguments on how to resolve the infringement.
 

Spade

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Nov 18, 2008
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Yes, the problem is lack of due process and the disregard for the presunption of innocence rather than the BAC limit. Bad laws are not observed.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
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Yes, the problem is lack of due process and the disregard for the presunption of innocence rather than the BAC limit. Bad laws are not observed.

Yep, it's time to enforce the laws we have before making more. :smile:
 

PoliticalNick

The Troll Bashing Troll
Mar 8, 2011
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If you read the news stories, they did not find the .05 civil convictions unconstitutional......

They found the way that they convicted the .08 criminal drivers unconstitutional...... because of the immediate license suspension and confiscation of cars by using a simple handheld roadside device that just said pass ,fail. with no ability to record the results.

Now they're forced, to take you back to the police station give you a real breathalyzer and allow you to talk to a lawyer and give you your day in court.........the RCMP are complaining about that because they say it takes up too much time

I find this to be silly. If it is unconstitutional for someone breaking the law to be punished before a day in court how is it not unconstitutional to punish someone NOT breaking the law without a day in court?
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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Yes, the problem is lack of due process and the disregard for the presunption of innocence rather than the BAC limit. Bad laws are not observed.

Under the BC Law it could take months to process a case and even longer as up to a year. Under the AB Law it is a 3 day suspension. That I believe is for the 1st offense. I think it is reasonable.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
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It could well "fly" in Alberta, we put up with a lot of sh*t here that they don't over there. :lol:
 

Spade

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Nov 18, 2008
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Under the BC Law it could take months to process a case and even longer as up to a year. Under the AB Law it is a 3 day suspension. That I believe is for the 1st offense. I think it is reasonable.

Still does not comply with the "Rule of law" as we know it.
 

Goober

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Jan 23, 2009
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Still does not comply with the "Rule of law" as we know it.

The case in BC failed due to the severity and length of time for a case to proceed. Now will the Courts see this as a reasonable or unreasonable encroachment of Charter rights.
 

PoliticalNick

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Mar 8, 2011
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Under the BC Law it could take months to process a case and even longer as up to a year. Under the AB Law it is a 3 day suspension. That I believe is for the 1st offense. I think it is reasonable.

So you think its reasonable to be punished for NOT breaking the law?
 

PoliticalNick

The Troll Bashing Troll
Mar 8, 2011
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What you fail to understand is this is the law unless overturned.

Not quite. The legal limit is still 0.08. They cannot pursue any charges under the criminal code unless you exceed this limit.

Now the bigger factor here is that the punishment they are going to hand out for being below the legal limit (not breaking the law) is arbitrary. The cop who pulls you over has discretion at the time so he/she becomes judge, jury and executioner. Also unlike anything other offense under the CCC or any Act, including the MVA, there is no chance to defend yourself or appeal. You can fight a speeding ticket or a parking ticket or a violation of the income tax act or fisheries act and the actual fine or punishment is not enforced until you have that chance.

It comes down to the right to due process of the law and if you do not have a chance for a defense in a court of law then your right to due process is infringed upon. There will be further challenges of this law and eventually the Supreme Court of Canada will have to rule it a charter violation.