This guide provides key resources related to Impaired Driving Offences in Canada. It also includes materials dealing with non-criminal impaired driving offences within the legislation of the province of Alberta. Topics in this guide include:
- Defences
- Evidentiary issues
- Impaired driving devices
- Sentencing/Penalties
Other related subject guides include:
- Constitutional Law & Charter of Rights & Freedoms
- Criminal Law – Drug Offences
- Criminal Procedure
- Criminal Law – Sentencing
Texts
- Breathalyzer law in Canada : the prosecution and defence of drinking, drugs and driving offences (available online), 5th ed. by Roderick McLeod, John Takach & Murray Segal Table of Contents
- Criminal Code driving offences : companion text for Breathalyzer law in Canada (available online), by Roderick M. McLeod, John D. Takach & Murray D. Segal
- Defending drinking, drugs and driving cases by Alan Gold Table of Contents
- Drug-impaired driving in Canada (available online) by Nathan Baker Table of Contents
- A guide to breathalyzer certificates in Canada by Alan Pearse
- Impaired driving and breathalyzer law: recent case law by Keith R. Hamilton Table of Contents
- Impaired driving and other Criminal Code driving offences (available online), 2nd ed. by Karen Jokinen & Peter Keen Table of Contents.
- Impaired driving in Canada, 6th ed. by Joseph F. Kenkel Table of Contents
- Impaired driving in Canada the Charter cases, 5th ed. by Justice Joseph F. Kenkel Table of Contents
- Understanding all impaired driving devices : their history, problems, foibles and merits and why these devices and support systems had to come into existence by Paul D. Haines Table of Contents
- Wigmore on alcohol : courtroom alcohol toxicology for the medicolegal professional, 2nd ed. by James G. Wigmore Table of Contents
- Wigmore on cannabis : the forensic toxicology of marijuana for lawyers and other medicolegal professionals (available online) by James G. Wigmore Table of Contents
Last revised Apr. 25, 2024
- Tremeear’s criminal code: and the following related statutes, Canada Evidence Act, Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Food and Drugs Act, Narcotic Control Act, Young Offenders Act (available online) by David Watt & Michelle K. Fuerst Table of Contents
- Crankshaw’s criminal code of Canada: R.S.C. 1985 (available online) by Gary P. Rodrigues
Last revised Apr. 6, 2023
Case Law
For more information on finding cases see our research guide : Finding and researching cases.
A collection of the judgments of the Alberta Courts is available from CanLII. The official version of the reasons for judgment is the signed original or handwritten endorsement in the court file. If there is a question about the content of a judgment, the original court file takes precedence.
E-Resources
- The Canadian Abridgment available on: Westlaw Canada
- All Canadian summaries, Canadian case summaries and Canada digest are available on: LexisAdvance® Quicklaw®
Print Resources
Legislation
Statutes
Sections 320.11 (Offences relating to Conveyances)
Sections 320.12(1)-320.21 (Offences and Punishments) Including:
- Operation while impaired
- Testing for presence of alcohol or a drug, etc.
- Warrants to obtain blood samples
- Prohibitions
Regulated Regulations under the Criminal Code
- Approved Breath Analysis Instruments Order, SI/85-201
- Approved Screening Devices Order, SOR/2024-66
- Evaluation of Impaired Operation (Drugs and Alcohol) Regulations, SOR/2008-196
- Order Approving Blood Sample Containers, SOR/2005-37
Federal Acts and Regulations can be found electronically at:
Statutes
Search for “impaired”, “alcohol” or “drugs”
Related Regulations under the Traffic Safety Act
- Commercial Vehicle Safety, Alta Reg 121/2009
- Demerit Point Program and Service of Documents Regulation, Alta Reg 331/2002
- Operator Licensing and Vehicle Control Regulation, Alta Reg 320/2002
- Vehicle Seizure and Removal Regulation, Alta Reg 251/2006
To access or purchase the official version, go to: Alberta King’s Printer
Encyclopedias
Canadian encyclopedic digest (C.E.D.) (Western) (available online), 4th ed. Sections related to Impaired Driving include:
- Constitutional Law.
- Criminal law – Defences.
- Criminal law – Offences.
- Driving Offences
- Criminal Law – Procedure.
- Motor Vehicles.
- Sentencing.
- Driving Offences
The CED provides discussion of these areas of law with annotations to legislation and case law. Additional information may be found by searching the indexes or database using the keywords “impaired driving,” “driving while impaired,” “breathalyzer,” “breath sample,” “blood sample,” etc.
Also available electronically through: Westlaw Canada
Halsbury’s laws of Canada is a multi-volume set which includes coverage of Federal, Provincial & Territorial legislation.
Also available electronically through: LexisAdvance® Quicklaw®
Titles related to Impaired Driving include:
- Constitutional Law (Charter of Rights) (HCHR)
- Criminal Offences (HCR)
- Evidence (HEV)
- Motor Vehicles (HMV)
- Public Health (HPH)
Additional information may be found under other topical headings.
Journals
- Index to Canadian legal literature (ICLL) (available online) electronically on Westlaw Canada and Lexis Advance® Quicklaw®
- Current Index to Legal Periodicals (available online)
- LexisAdvance® Quicklaw® includes Impaired driving netletter by the Hon. Justice Joseph F. Kenkel and other materials.
- Westlaw Canada includes Segal’s motor vehicle and impaired driving newsletter and contains a collection of Canadian journals and law reviews, as well as all articles and case comments appearing in Carswell law reports.
- HeinOnline – includes the Criminal law quarterly and Canadian journal of criminology and criminal justice. Provides full-text access to Canadian and international law reviews and legal journals.
- vLex Justis
- Canada Criminal Law Review
- Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice – Abstracts also available online
- Criminal Law Quarterly
- For the Defence Criminal Lawyers’ Association Newsletter
- Motor Vehicle Reports (Articles)
Last revised Apr. 6, 2023
Websites
Alberta
- Impaired Driving – Alberta
- Impaired Driving 2023 (SLS) Produced by Student Legal Services
Federal
- Alcohol and Drug Impaired Driving (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)
- Impaired driving in Canada, 2019 – Statistics Canada
- Mandatory Minimum Penalties: Their Effects on Crime, Sentencing Disparities, and Justice System Expenditures: Mandatory Sentences for Impaired Driving (Department of Justice, Canada)
Last revised July 25, 2024
Disclaimer: As law librarians, we are pleased to provide you this resource for information and research purposes only – It is not a substitute for professional legal advice. We strive to bring you quality and current information in this resource, but we make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, accessibility, adequacy, or completeness of the information presented here. The sources featured are selected based on professional assessment and opinion, and do not constitute an endorsement, editorial, review, or guarantee.