The accused, Bowen Fan, was charged with impaired operation and operating a motor vehicle with excess alcohol.
The Crown conceded the impaired operation charge.
The defence brought a Charter application alleging breaches of Mr. Fan's s. 10(b) rights due to language barriers and denial of access to a third party to obtain counsel information.
The court found significant informational and implementational breaches of s. 10(b) due to the police's failure to ensure Mr. Fan understood his rights, provide an interpreter, or allow him to contact a friend for lawyer details.
Applying the Grant test under s. 24(2), the court found the seriousness and impact of the breaches outweighed society's interest in adjudication on the merits, leading to the exclusion of breath test evidence and dismissal of both charges.