Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 4 11 Regional wRap-up T here is a highly antici- pated court judgment expected soon from Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench. Changes made to the Traffic Safety Act, which see those charged with impaired driv- ing lose their licence immediately — whether convicted or not — has created a situation at least one of the province's leading criminal lawyers calls "profoundly wrong." The changes have been challenged in court. Now the provincial government, the bar, and the public are awaiting word from the court. Of course, an appeal is widely anticipated whatever the court's finding. "There's a feeling," says Edmonton DUI lawyer Shannon Prithipaul, "that the Court of Appeal will want to weigh in on this." The controversial changes came into effect late in 2012. They were introduced in response to calls for tougher drinking and driving laws, many of which came from the families of those killed or injured by impaired drivers. The revisions to the act mean anyone charged with impaired driv- ing must immediately surrender his or her driver's licence and they do not get it back until the matter has been dealt with by the court. Thus even someone found not guilty won't have a licence while the trial works its way through the court system. "I've had clients on suspension for 12 to 18 months, who even when found not guilty have been punished with a lengthy suspension for nothing. It's outrageous," says Calgary law- yer Ian Savage, who specializes in defend- ing impaired cases. One result of the new law has been a desire by those charged to plead guilty, even if they have a defence. Once convicted they can apply for the return of their licence in three months, though they must have a breath analysis device attached to their car's ignition to prevent it from starting if it detects significant alcohol on their breath. So a swift guilty plea can result in a relatively short period without a licence, whereas an innocent per- son who fights the charge, even if they win, is faced with prob- ably a year or more without a licence. The unintended conse- quence of the law, says Prithipaul, is "the innocent are treated worse than the guilty. There is something profoundly wrong with that." The court case challenging the law was based largely on the argument the law was essentially a criminal law — a strictly feder- al area of responsibility — and thus beyond the constitutional power of the province to pass. The case also raised concerns certain Charter guarantees such as a right to fundamental justice, and the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty are being trampled. Meanwhile, the provincial govern- ment continues to defend the tough laws. Alberta's Justice Minister Jonathan Denis says, "This is 100 per cent about driver safety. We want to ensure that safety is the No. 1 priority on all of our streets." — GeoFF eLLWAND writerlaw@gmail.com WeSt C algary's legal community will finally get its collective chance to honour the centenary of Alberta's highest court. Lawyers who missed a spring dinner in edmonton honouring the Alberta Court of Appeal get a second chance, this time in Calgary at a dinner fea- turing Ronald Reagan-appointed, united States Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. this longest-serving u.S. Supreme Court justice is famous for his often sharp-tongued, con- servative opinions as well as his memorable, if sometimes controversial, legal quips. he recently told New york magazine, "the best opening line of an opinion" was his own in 1984 in Community Nutrition Institute v. Block. It read: "this case, involving legal requirements for the content and label- ing of meat products such as frankfurters, affords a rare opportunity to explore simultaneously both parts of Bismarck's aphorism that 'No man should see how laws or sausages are made'." No word on whether sausages will be served at the oct. 22 dinner. But Stacy Kaufeld, executive director of the Legal Archives Society of Alberta, one of the co-hosts says even though Calgary's legal community is generally conservative, "Ì don`t think politics or legal beliefs had anything to do with choosing Justice Scalia as speaker." however, the acerbic court veteran's message will likely be well received. that may be why Calgary's big corporate law firms have bought numerous tables and are inviting some of their most favoured (read most lucrative) clients. the generally sedate Canadian Bar Association-Alberta Branch, hosted the dinner in edmonton. the october dinner is being co-hosted by the normally less-reserved Calgary Bar Association, famous for its annual Stampede Whoop up, an event held in a tent downtown which features plenty of booze, industrial-level music volume, and scantily clad servers in cowboy hats and push-up bras. the Calgary Bar Association's Sean Fairhurst who played a key role in organizing the dinner acknowledges with a slight chuckle the association's reputation but says he has "no concerns" anything untoward will occur. And to the suggestions that there is no need for tWo dinners to celebrate the Court of Appeal's centenary, Fairhurst points out that the Alberta Court of Appeal regularly sits in both edmonton and Calgary and thus it is eminently appropriate both cities host a dinner. — Ge ALBerTA cOUrT Of APPeAL wrAPS UP ceNTeNArY ceLeBrATIONS here is a highly antici- pated court judgment expected soon from Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench. Changes made to the Traffic Safety Act, which see those charged with impaired driv- ing lose their licence immediately — whether convicted or not — has created a situation at least one of the a relatively short period without a licence, whereas an innocent per- son who fights the charge, even quence of the law, says Prithipaul, is "the innocent are treated worse than the guilty. There is something profoundly wrong with that." alberta aWaits court decision on tough imPaired driVing laWs

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