A foggy view of the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa on November 4, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick)
The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld the acquittal of a Quebec man who refused to provide a breath sample to officers without immediate access to an approved screening device for alcohol.
The demand was deemed invalid as per the high court since the police did not possess the required device to test the individual for alcohol.
In April 2017, the police were searching for an individual who was driving drunk while operating an all-terrain vehicle, as reported by patrollers.
After stopping a man on foot who had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, the officers asked their nearby colleagues for a test, but the man repeatedly refused to provide a breath sample and maintained that he was not operating the all-terrain vehicle.
The man was initially found guilty of not complying with the police order for a breath sample by a municipal court but was acquitted by the Quebec Court of Appeal.