Canada’s government should review breathalyzer laws to protect minorities, defence lawyer says
… In 2018, the federal government changed the law to allow police to use breathalyzer tests at traffic stops even if they don’t suspect a driver is visibly impaired, which paved the way for these new mandatory testing rules.
Defence lawyer Michael Spratt says the feds should revisit this idea because there aren’t safeguards to help protect minorities.
“Police disproportionately pull over racialized and visible minority drivers,” Spratt said, adding that police can use traffic stops as an unfair avenue to search cars and question people, and it’s easy for white drivers to support the change when they’re not getting pulled over several times in a short period.
