North Battleford RCMP testing drug-screening devices on drivers

When you get pulled over by police, they'll likely ask for your licence and registration. In North Battleford, you may now be asked to provide a saliva sample. 

The North Battleford RCMP detachment is one of a handful across the country that will soon begin testing two types of devices. They're meant to screen a driver's saliva for cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine or opioids.

Ralph Goodale, the federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, told CBC Radio's Blue Sky the government wants to assess whether the equipment is valuable for testing drug-impaired driving.

"We want to determine from a scientific point of view: Are these roadside testing tools accurate and reliable?" he said.

The devices are also being tested out by Ontario Provincial Police, RCMP in Yellowknife, along with police forces in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax and Gatineau, Que. Part of the reason the different police forces were selected, Goodale said, was to have a variety of different weather conditions for the tests.

No legal consequences during pilot project

Goodale said officers can only test drivers who volunteer to provide the sample anonymously, meaning the record won't have their name attached, and the results cannot be used in court. It's meant to check if the tests are accurate, and to find which of the two types of device works best.

"There's going to be no force or coercion here, and no consequences for saying 'no,'" Goodale said of the pilot project. 

However, Goodale said if someone is suspected of driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs officers can use current methods of impairment testing to determine if the driver should be charged.

Current roadside drug tests

Police reported 2,786 instances of drug-impaired driving last year across Canada, 161 of which occurred in Saskatchewan.

RCMP say drug recognition experts can determine if a driver is under the influence of drugs, and police now have the authority to demand suspects submit to testing and provide samples of blood, urine or saliva.

The RCMP shares its 12-step method for assessing drivers for suspected drug impairment on its web site. The process includes a certified drug recognition expert, a series of physical tests, examinations and interviews with the suspect.

But even confirming drug use through that roadside process doesn't always result in a conviction. Statistics Canada says drug-impaired driving cases result in a guilty verdict 61 per cent of the time, while cases of alleged alcohol impairment led to guilty verdicts in 81 per cent of cases.

It found drug-impaired driving cases took a median of 245 days to resolve in court, while alcohol cases took a median of 114 days. 

Goodale said the pilot project is an early step toward making laws better-suited to charges of drug-impaired driving. 

"Once we've run this for a few months across the country and collected the information, that will better inform us about future changes that will be made to the Criminal Code," he said.