Application for leave to appeal from a conviction on a charge of refusal to comply with a screening demand. Issue regarding whether accused should be allowed to use a cell phone to exercise 10(b) rights at the screening stage, and application for Court to re-consider Mitchell, 1994 ABCA 369.
Held: Leave granted.
Leave granted on other issues. Application to re-consider Mitchell dismissed (Veldhuis, JA dissenting). “Mitchell defers entirely to Thomsen [1988] 1 SCR 640 … Parliament requires motorists to give roadside screening samples forthwith … and any violation of the Charter is saved under section 1 … The proliferation of cell phones, however, does nothing to invalidate that starting premise in Mitchell and Thomsen. Even where a cell phone is present, the requirement to provide a breath sample forthwith is inconsistent with the right to consult counsel.”
S. Prithipaul, Defence Counsel