Sentencing of accused who pleaded guilty to refusal to provide a sample of breath. Issue of whether time accused’s license was suspended under the Alberta Administrative License Suspension (AALS) should be credited towards the mandatory s 259(1) CC driving prohibition.
Held: Credit towards s 259(1) CC driving prohibition denied.
Court rejected the argument that the AALS prohibition was akin to judicial interim release conditions, declining to follow Sohal, 2018 ABPC 86 and Ludwig, 2018 ABPC 122. Further, Court declined to grant a s 24(1) remedy based on the Charter breaches identified in Sahaluk, 2017 ABCA 153 as there was nothing to indicate that this accused was caught by the regime’s overbreadth or disproportionality. Granting credit would entitle every driver to credit, and “would lead to the undesirable result of provincial legislation frustrating parliamentary intent, by having the effect of reducing prescribed minimum sentences to accommodate civil administrative licensing regimes.”
J. Leung – Defence Counsel