253. (1) Every one commits an offence who operates a motor vehicle or vessel
or operates or assists in the operation of an aircraft or of railway equipment
or has the care or control of a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway
equipment, whether it is in motion or not,
(a) while the person’s ability to operate the vehicle, vessel,
aircraft or railway equipment is impaired by alcohol or a drug; or
(b) having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the
concentration in the person’s blood exceeds eighty milligrams of alcohol in one
hundred millilitres of blood.
For greater certainty
(2) For greater certainty, the reference to impairment by alcohol or a
drug in paragraph (1)(a) includes impairment by a combination of alcohol
and a drug.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 253; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st
Supp.), s. 36, c. 32 (4th Supp.), s. 59; 2008, c. 6, s. 18.
Definitions
254. (1) In this section and sections 254.1 to 258.1,
"analyst"
«analyste »
"analyst" means a person designated by the Attorney General as
an analyst for the purposes of section 258;
"approved container"
«contenant approuvé »
"approved container" means
(a) in respect of breath samples, a container of a kind that is
designed to receive a sample of the breath of a person for analysis and is
approved as suitable for the purposes of section 258 by order of the Attorney
General of Canada, and
(b) in respect of blood samples, a container of a kind that is
designed to receive a sample of the blood of a person for analysis and is
approved as suitable for the purposes of section 258 by order of the Attorney
General of Canada;
"approved instrument"
«alcootest approuvé »
"approved instrument" means an instrument of a kind that is
designed to receive and make an analysis of a sample of the breath of a person
in order to measure the concentration of alcohol in the blood of that person
and is approved as suitable for the purposes of section 258 by order of the
Attorney General of Canada;
"approved screening device"
«appareil de détection approuvé »
"approved screening device" means a device of a kind that is
designed to ascertain the presence of alcohol in the blood of a person and that
is approved for the purposes of this section by order of the Attorney General
of Canada;
"evaluating officer"
«agent évaluateur »
"evaluating officer" means a peace officer who is qualified
under the regulations to conduct evaluations under subsection (3.1);
"qualified medical practitioner"
«médecin qualifié »
"qualified medical practitioner" means a person duly qualified
by provincial law to practise medicine;
"qualified technician"
«technicien qualifié »
"qualified technician" means,
(a) in respect of breath samples, a person designated by the
Attorney General as being qualified to operate an approved instrument, and
(b) in respect of blood samples, any person or person of a class
of persons designated by the Attorney General as being qualified to take
samples of blood for the purposes of this section and sections 256 and 258.
Testing for presence of alcohol or a drug
(2) If a peace officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person
has alcohol or a drug in their body and that the person has, within the
preceding three hours, operated a motor vehicle or vessel, operated or assisted
in the operation of an aircraft or railway equipment or had the care or control
of a motor vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or railway equipment, whether it was
in motion or not, the peace officer may, by demand, require the person to
comply with paragraph (a), in the case of a drug, or with either or both
of paragraphs (a) and (b), in the case of alcohol:
(a) to perform forthwith physical coordination tests prescribed
by regulation to enable the peace officer to determine whether a demand may be
made under subsection (3) or (3.1) and, if necessary, to accompany the peace
officer for that purpose; and
(b) to provide forthwith a sample of breath that, in the peace
officer’s opinion, will enable a proper analysis to be made by means of an
approved screening device and, if necessary, to accompany the peace officer for
that purpose.
Video recording
(2.1) For greater certainty, a peace officer may make a video recording
of a performance of the physical coordination tests referred to in paragraph
(2)(a).
Samples of breath or blood
(3) If a peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a person
is committing, or at any time within the preceding three hours has committed,
an offence under section 253 as a result of the consumption of alcohol, the
peace officer may, by demand made as soon as practicable, require the person
(a) to provide, as soon as practicable,
(i) samples of breath that, in a qualified technician’s opinion, will
enable a proper analysis to be made to determine the concentration, if any, of
alcohol in the person’s blood, or
(ii) if the peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that,
because of their physical condition, the person may be incapable of providing a
sample of breath or it would be impracticable to obtain a sample of breath,
samples of blood that, in the opinion of the qualified medical practitioner or
qualified technician taking the samples, will enable a proper analysis to be
made to determine the concentration, if any, of alcohol in the person’s blood;
and
(b) if necessary, to accompany the peace officer for that
purpose.
Evaluation
(3.1) If a peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that a person
is committing, or at any time within the preceding three hours has committed,
an offence under paragraph 253(1)(a) as a result of the consumption of a
drug or of a combination of alcohol and a drug, the peace officer may, by
demand made as soon as practicable, require the person to submit, as soon as
practicable, to an evaluation conducted by an evaluating officer to determine
whether the person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft
or railway equipment is impaired by a drug or by a combination of alcohol and a
drug, and to accompany the peace officer for that purpose.
Video recording
(3.2) For greater certainty, a peace officer may make a video recording
of an evaluation referred to in subsection (3.1).
Testing for
presence of alcohol
(3.3) If the evaluating officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that
the person has alcohol in their body and if a demand was not made under
paragraph (2)(b) or subsection (3), the evaluating officer may, by
demand made as soon as practicable, require the person to provide, as soon as
practicable, a sample of breath that, in the evaluating officer’s opinion, will
enable a proper analysis to be made by means of an approved instrument.
Samples of
bodily substances
(3.4) If, on completion of the evaluation, the evaluating officer has
reasonable grounds to believe, based on the evaluation, that the person’s
ability to operate a motor vehicle, a vessel, an aircraft or railway equipment
is impaired by a drug or by a combination of alcohol and a drug, the evaluating
officer may, by demand made as soon as practicable, require the person to
provide, as soon as practicable,
(a) a sample of either oral fluid or urine that, in the
evaluating officer’s opinion, will enable a proper analysis to be made to
determine whether the person has a drug in their body; or
(b) samples of blood that, in the opinion of the qualified
medical practitioner or qualified technician taking the samples, will enable a
proper analysis to be made to determine whether the person has a drug in their
body.
Condition
(4) Samples of blood may be taken from a person under subsection (3) or
(3.4) only by or under the direction of a qualified medical practitioner who is
satisfied that taking the samples would not endanger the person’s life or
health.
Failure or refusal to comply with demand
(5) Everyone commits an offence who, without reasonable excuse, fails or
refuses to comply with a demand made under this section.
Only one determination of guilt
(6) A person who is convicted of an offence under subsection (5) for a
failure or refusal to comply with a demand may not be convicted of another
offence under that subsection in respect of the same transaction.
R.S., 1985, c. C-46, s. 254; R.S., 1985, c. 27 (1st
Supp.), s. 36, c. 1 (4th Supp.), ss. 14, 18(F), c. 32 (4th Supp.), s. 60; 1999,
c. 32, s. 2(Preamble); 2008, c. 6, s. 19.
Regulations
254.1 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations
(a) respecting the qualifications and training of evaluating
officers;
(b) prescribing the physical coordination tests to be conducted
under paragraph 254(2)(a); and
(c) prescribing the tests to be conducted and procedures to be
followed during an evaluation under subsection 254(3.1).
Incorporated
material
(2) A regulation may incorporate any material by reference either as it
exists on a specified date or as amended from time to time.
Incorporated
material is not a regulation
(3) For greater certainty, material does not become a regulation for the
purposes of the Statutory Instruments Act because it is incorporated by
reference.
2008, c. 6, s. 20.
Punishment
255. (1) Every one who commits an offence under section 253 or 254 is guilty
of an indictable offence or an offence punishable on summary conviction and is
liable,
(a) whether the offence is prosecuted by indictment or punishable
on summary conviction, to the following minimum punishment, namely,
(i) for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000,
(ii) for a second offence, to imprisonment for not less than 30 days,
and
(iii) for each subsequent offence, to imprisonment for not less than 120
days;
(b) where the offence is prosecuted by indictment, to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years; and
(c) if the offence is punishable on summary conviction, to
imprisonment for a term of not more than 18 months.
