B.C’s controversial automatic roadside prohibition (ARP) scheme – the toughest drinking and driving law in the country – has been largely upheld in a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Canada. Introduced in 2010, the ARP scheme involved efforts to remove impaired drivers from B.C’s roads through the use of license suspensions, financial penalties and remedial programs. The scheme necessitates roadside checks and analysis of drivers’ breath samples using an approved screening device (ASD).
Several drivers had challenged the B.C.’s roadside prohibitions in recent years, claiming that the ARP scheme was a criminal law in disguise and invades the federal government’s exclusive jurisdiction over criminal law. Further, civil liberties