The DUI Charge
charged with impaired driving in alberta?
Arguably, the attack on civil liberty and the rule of law is felt most often through the prosecution of Impaired Driving / DUI (driving under the influence) / DWI (driving while intoxicated) cases. The attack has been initiated by all levels of Government – Provincial and Federal – with the Crown used as a powerful instrument of policy.
By way of example, the Criminal Code of Canada clothes the police with expansive investigative powers, which are especially prolific in DUI / Impaired Driving cases. The Code also creates statutory shortcuts to assist the Crown in prosecuting "at 80" and refusal allegations. Additionally, legislation introduced by the previous Harper Government has effectively abrogated specific legal defences (such as evidence to the contrary). Over the years, the Liberal Government and Provincial Governments have arguably added insult to injury. In fact, despite finding that the previous Alberta Administrative License Suspension program was unconstitutional, the Court of Appeal granted the Province a one-year grace period, during which they continued to suspend presumptively innocent citizens pursuant non-compliant Charter legislation. Today, the legislation has changed and with that change, challenges will almost certainly be renewed.
Changes to impaired driving law means new challenges and potentially new defences. If you have been charged with impaired driving in Calgary or anywhere in Canada, now is not the time to hire a dabbler. Hire a proven Calgary impaired driving lawyer to assess your case. David Chow is an Alberta DUI lawyer with nearly two-decades of experience defending impaired driving, refusing to blow, "at 80" and all criminal driving offences.