The accused was charged with impaired operation and refusing to comply with an approved instrument breath demand following a traffic stop on Highway 417 in Ottawa.
The court conducted a blended Charter and voluntariness voir dire to determine whether the stop and detention were lawful, whether reasonable and probable grounds existed for arrest and the breath demand, and whether the accused's section 10(b) rights to counsel were violated.
The court found that while the stop and investigative detention were lawful based on common law authority to protect public safety, the arrest and breath demand were unlawful as the officer lacked both subjective and objective reasonable and probable grounds.
The court also found serious violations of the accused's section 10(b) rights through breaches of the hold-off principle, privacy requirements, and unilateral termination of legal consultation.
Evidence was excluded under section 24(2) of the Charter.