Toronto police launch roadside drug-testing pilot project

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Toronto Police began asking drivers on Monday to voluntarily submit to new roadside drug testing as part of a pilot project involving police forces across the country.

However, officers aren't yet permitted to use hand-held drug-screening devices – which test saliva for the presence of several kinds of illegal drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids – in their enforcement efforts under the Criminal Code.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, who announced the pilot project involving seven police forces last week, said the testing results will "help establish possible future operating procedures." The program is meant to test how well the devices perform in different weather conditions.

In order for police to be able to use drug-screening devices to lay criminal charges against drivers, the federal government would have to enact legislative changes and establish standards for the so-called oral fluid screening devices, including what, if any, levels of drugs are allowed.

Andrew Murie, chief executive officer of the anti-impairment charity MADD Canada, said he considers roadside drug-screening devices as a little-known and overdue part of the government's plans to legalize marijuana. Ottawa plans to introduce legislation to legalize and regulate access to cannabis in the spring.

"We need this. This is the game-changer. This is the equivalent of a breathalyzer at roadside for alcohol and this will serve as a deterrent to people that are under the influence," he said.

Mr. Murie said the devices are in use in other countries and are a reliable way to test drivers for recent illegal drug use. The gadgets can be calibrated to detect the presence of several kinds of drugs but samples must be sent to a laboratory for sophisticated testing to determine the exact level of the drug to provide evidence to support criminal charges, he said.

In a statement, Mr. Goodale said drug-impaired driving incidents have been rising since 2009. Mr. Murie cited 2012 statistics showing that more drivers involved in fatal collisions had used drugs than alcohol.

Sukanya Pillay, executive director and general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said she has questions about the police program, including how saliva samples would be stored, whether they would be shared with third-party testing companies, and how and when they would be destroyed.

"Obviously preventing impaired driving is a valuable public-safety goal. However, we also have to bear in mind that a saliva sample … can be an invasive search in the sense that you are obtaining highly personal information, including DNA information," she said, urging strict protocols.

In the Toronto pilot program, which will last until the spring, several police officers will test two brands of portable rapid drug-screening devices. After stopping drivers as part of their normal duties, including under the RIDE spot-check program for alcohol impairment, the officers will first conduct their usual screening procedures for alcohol or drug use. If a driver does not appear to be under the influence, the officers can then choose to ask the person to voluntarily take part in the study and provide an anonymous saliva sample, Constable Clint Stibbe said.

"There is nothing that forces that person to be part of the pilot and they can refuse at any time, at any stage," he said.

If the sample tests positive for drugs, which occurs within a few minutes, police will not lay charges or pursue any other form of sanction and the person will be free to drive away with no legal repercussions because they had already passed the currently allowed police impairment-screening procedures, Constable Stibbe said.

"We're willing to let anybody test the device as long as they meet certain criteria and as long as they do not put themselves in any legal jeopardy prior to, meaning that they're facing charges of impaired operation, any sort of warn range, anything that results in any sort of sanctions," he said.

Data will be assigned control numbers that will not link to people's personal information and cannot be used as evidence for criminal or administrative offence, he said.

Along with Toronto Police, the other forces that are part of the pilot program are the Vancouver Police Department; the Ontario Provincial Police; RCMP detachments in Yellowknife and North Battleford, Sask.; and municipal police forces in Halifax and Gatineau. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police supports the program.

In a release, Mr. Goodale's office noted that the Criminal Code currently allows police officers to conduct standard field sobriety tests on drivers suspected of drug use and, when there are reasonable grounds, they can order drug evaluations by specially trained officers.