Supreme Court of Canada to hold first hearings in Quebec City

The Supreme Court of Canada is holding hearings in Quebec City on Wednesday to consider whether police officers should be immediately equipped with breathalyzers when asking a person suspected of impaired driving to provide a breath sample.

The country's highest court is moving its proceedings outside Ottawa for the second time in its history to hear from four parties in the case.

The incident dates back to April 2017, when police officers stopped Pascal Breault near Quebec City and asked him to provide a breath sample after receiving information that he had been driving an all-terrain vehicle while impaired.

The officers did not have an approved screening device (ASD) to collect the breath sample and asked colleagues to bring one.

During the waiting period, they gave the man advance notice that he would have to provide a sample, which he refused.

As a result, the officers cancelled their request for an ASD and charged Breault under the Criminal Code for refusing to comply with their order to provide a breath sample.

Breault was convicted in municipal court before appealing the decision and arguing that an ASD should be immediately available to police officers at all times.

The Superior Court dismissed his appeal, but the Court of Appeal agreed and acquitted him.

The Court of Appeal held that the order given by the police was invalid because the Criminal Code states that an offence is committed when there is a refusal to provide a sample "forthwith."

"How could (Mr. Breault) do this in the absence of an ASD? This was obviously impossible. How could he commit an offence by refusing to do something he could not do? It was equally impossible," the ruling said.

It notes that the legislator chose the word "immediately" rather than "as soon as possible" when drafting this section of the Criminal Code and, therefore, it cannot take into account delays in delivering the device.

The Supreme Court of Canada will now have to decide whether to uphold or overturn this decision.

Thursday, it will consider a second case in Quebec City that challenges the province's cannabis law, prohibiting the possession of marijuana plants.

In contrast, federal law allows up to four.

These two cases will be the first to be heard by new Justice Michelle O'Bonsawin, the first Indigenous person appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.

The visit of the justices to Quebec City is part of an effort to make the court more open and accessible to the public.

The last time they ventured out of Ottawa was in 2019 to hear a case in Winnipeg, MB.

The justices are also slated to answer questions from the general public about the workings of the Supreme Court during an event at the Musée de la civilisation.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 14, 2022.