2 total
Accused acquitted of impaired driving; waiting in running car for a ride posed no realistic risk.
The accused was found in the driver's seat of his idling vehicle in a dealership parking lot after consuming alcohol.
He testified that he had driven to the dealership to drop off his car for servicing, arranged for a friend to pick him up, and then went to a bar before returning to wait in the running car to stay warm.
The Crown conceded the accused rebutted the statutory presumption of operation.
Applying the Boudreault framework, the court found the accused had a concrete and reliable alternate plan to get home and that there was no realistic risk of danger that he would change his mind and drive.
The accused was acquitted of operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration exceeding the legal limit.
The court dismissed the charge of failing to provide a breath sample due to multiple Charter breaches.
The accused was charged with failing to provide a breath sample into an approved screening device contrary to section 320.15 of the Criminal Code.
The Crown relied on video evidence and police testimony to establish that the accused was lawfully arrested for unauthorized license plates, detected an odour of alcohol, and refused to provide a breath sample.
The defence raised three Charter breaches: an unreasonable search when officers opened the vehicle door; an arbitrary detention when officers arrested the accused without reasonable grounds for the provincial offence; and a breach of the right to counsel when the accused was held for nearly two hours at the roadside without access to legal counsel.
The court found all three Charter breaches established and dismissed the charge.
