SUPREME COURT OF CANADA

Reference of a matter heard: October 14, 2016 Order: October 14, 2016 Docket: 36777

Between:

Eric Andrew Rowson

Appellant

and

Her Majesty The Queen

Respondent

Coram: Abella, Moldaver, Wagner, Côté and Brown JJ.

Reasons for Order: (para. 1)

Abella J. (Moldaver, Wagner, Côté and Brown JJ. concurring)

R. v. Rowson, 2016 SCC 40, [2016] 2 S.C.R. 158

Eric Andrew Rowson Appellant

v.

Her Majesty The Queen Respondent

Indexed as: R. v. Rowson

2016 SCC 40

File No.: 36777.

2016: October 14.

Present: Abella, Moldaver, Wagner, Côté and Brown JJ.

on appeal from the court of appeal for alberta

Constitutional law — Charter of Rights — Arbitrary detention — Right to counsel — Search and seizure — Remedy — Exclusion of evidence — Admission of breath sample evidence would not bring administration of justice into disrepute — Accused’s convictions upheld.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Alberta Court of Appeal (Martin, O’Ferrall and Veldhuis JJ.A.), 2015 ABCA 354 , 29 Alta. L.R. (6th) 40, 332 C.C.C. (3d) 165, 607 A.R. 334, 653 W.A.C. 334, 91 M.V.R. (6th) 51, [2016] 4 W.W.R. 483, [2015] A.J. No. 1253 (QL), 2015 CarswellAlta 2139 (WL Can.), upholding the accused’s convictions for impaired driving causing bodily harm, dangerous driving causing bodily harm and driving with a blood alcohol level exceeding the legal limit entered by Martin J. Appeal dismissed, Abella and Côté JJ. dissenting.

Jennifer Ruttan and Michael Bates , for the appellant.

Christine Rideout , for the respondent.

The judgment of the Court was delivered orally by

[ 1 ] Abella J. — A majority of this panel is of the view that the appeal should be dismissed substantially for the reasons of Justice O’Ferrall. Justice Côté and I would allow the appeal primarily on the basis that the cumulative effect of the multiple breaches warranted the exclusion of the breathalyzer evidence.

Judgment accordingly.

Solicitors for the appellant: Ruttan Bates, Calgary.

Solicitor for the respondent: Attorney General of Alberta, Calgary.