BC Criminal Defence Lawyer Blog

Article by BC Criminal Attorney About Criminal Harassment / Stalking

Gordon J. Dykstra, a BC criminal defence attorney, published an in-depth article about criminal harassment, a.k.a. stalking.

Random Police Breathalyzer Testing for DUI and Impaired Driving?

Canadian Justice Minister Rob Nicholson announced in October 2009 that the Canadian government is considering enacting a law that would allow police in Canada to randomly force breathalyzer tests to motorists.

Presently, a police officer must suspect impaired driving before requiring a breathalyzer test.  This means a police officer must establish the grounds to ask for a breathalyzer test - such as slurred speech, erratic driving, alcohol odour, physical impairment and so on.

Countries in Europe and Asia have such laws and according to their statistics, car accident fatalities decreased with random breathalyzer testing. 

Opponents to the potential law state that random breathalyzer testing would infringe on our Charter rights, and in particular our right against unreasonable from search and seizure.

Another concern is the potential for profiling on race, economic geography, criminal records, driving records (i.e. 24 hour driving prohibitions), and perhaps other profiling.

Time will tell whether Canada follows Europe and parts of Asia with randomized breathalyzer testing. 

Dykstra & Company is moving June 24, 2009

On June 24, 2009, Dykstra & Company's office will be moving to:

#201 - 2692 Clearbrook Road
Abbotsford, BC  V2T 2Y8
Canada

During this transition our office will be closed from Wednesday June 24 through Wednesday July 1, 2009.  We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.  We hope to have our computers up and running by Monday June 29 to check e-mails.

Thank you for your understanding.

Dykstra & Company's First Blog Post

Welcome to Dykstra & Company's law blog - all about our law firm and British Columbia law in general.  This blog will be about a variety of legal issues - primarily discussing our practice areas which include ICBC claims, WCB appeals, family law, and criminal law.  Who knows, we may also diverge a little off the seriousness of law and talk about us and what we're doing other than legal work.

We're thrilled to launch our new all-in-one website and blog for our clients and persons looking for a lawyer in British Columbia.

You can stay up-to-date about our latest articles, announcements, and news items by subscribing to this blog - just click on the RSS button at the top right to subscribe.