In this criminal trial, the defendant, Mr. Tsang, pleaded not guilty to an "80 plus" charge under s. 320.14(1)(b) of the Criminal Code.
The defence challenged the admissibility of breath test results, alleging violations of Mr. Tsang's Charter rights under s. 10(a) and (b) due to language barriers.
The court found that Mr. Tsang, despite speaking with an accent, had a strong working command of English and understood his rights.
He was provided with an interpreter when he requested one to speak with duty counsel.
The court concluded that no "special circumstances" existed to trigger an obligation for police to provide rights in another language initially, and therefore, no Charter violation occurred.
Even if a violation had occurred, the court stated it would not exclude the reliable breath evidence under the R. v. Grant test, given the public interest in deterring impaired driving.
Mr. Tsang was found guilty.
