Saskatoon police say beginning within the new 12 months, officers conducting a routine visitors cease can order a breathalyzer check with out the requirement that there’s suspicion the motive force could also be beneath the affect.
Police mentioned the change, beginning Jan. 1, is an “further measure to enhance street security and cut back impaired driving inside Saskatoon.”
“New 12 months, new starting, and new instrument and power to make use of for the service and why not begin it on the primary day of the 12 months,” mentioned Sgt. Raymond Robertson with the Saskatoon Police Service.
Robertson mentioned that when an officer pulls over a automobile to conduct a cease, officers will then learn a requirement to order the motive force to supply a breath pattern into an authorized screening machine to find out if they’ve alcohol of their system or not.
Obligatory alcohol screening isn’t a brand new idea, with the authority to take action being inside police powers since 2018 after adjustments to Canada’s Prison Code.
Since then, a number of police companies throughout the nation have made adjustments to permit for officers to demand a breathalyzer with out trigger.
In Saskatchewan, Regina police made the change in March 2024, with the provincial RCMP doing the identical a month later in April.
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Requested why Saskatoon police waited till 2026, Robertson mentioned they needed to see the way it labored for different police companies.
“We simply needed to ensure we see how the developments go and the way it works for different nations, different companies within the province, and make an informed resolution to roll it out in a correct means and be sure that it really works out correctly for town of Saskatoon,” mentioned Robertson.
He added that individuals prior to now might have mentioned no to breathalyzers as a result of not understanding the the reason why they’re required to provide one, or they could not perceive the know-how behind the assessments and the way dependable it’s.
Knowledge supplied to International Information by Saskatoon police reveals the variety of Prison Code visitors fees paid for impaired operation of a motorized vehicle in 2025 — as of Nov. 30 — sits at 301.
The quantity is a 34-per cent enhance within the variety of fees laid solely a 12 months earlier, when 223 have been laid.
As well as, 110 fees have been laid for different Prison Code visitors violations that included refusing a breath teat, up from 97 in 2024.
Bonny Stevenson, president of MADD Saskatoon, says it’s excellent news that town’s police pressure is now going to implement the obligatory screening.
“The extra we are able to do, the higher,” she mentioned. “Any life we save is vastly vital, any household we are able to save from the loss that we’ve suffered.
She added whereas she acknowledges some folks could be not sure about having to undergo a breath check, she famous that when you’re not driving impaired it’s a “fast factor” to do.
Stevenson, who instructed International Information she misplaced her 17-year-old son in 2013 to an impaired driver, harassed issues just like the obligatory screening are simply one other reminder of why folks ought to plan a secure trip residence and never drink and drive.
“It’s so bloody easy. There’s simply a number of methods to get residence secure and, you already know, exit, get pleasure from your self, however plan that trip earlier than you allow the home,” Stevenson mentioned.
—with information from International Information’ Grace Miller, Christopher Vandenbreekel and Lara Howsam
© 2025 International Information, a division of Corus Leisure Inc.
