Saskatoon police to start mandatory alcohol screenings in new year on traffic stops
Global News
Other police forces in Canada have implemented mandatory alcohol screening since the Criminal Code was amended in 2018 to allow for breathalyzers without cause in traffic stops.
Saskatoon police say starting in the new year, officers conducting a routine traffic stop can order a breathalyzer test without the requirement that there is suspicion the driver may be under the influence.
Police said the change, starting Jan. 1, is an “additional measure to improve road safety and reduce impaired driving within Saskatoon.”
“New year, new beginning, and new instrument and tool to use for the service and why not start it on the first day of the year,” said Sgt. Raymond Robertson with the Saskatoon Police Service.
Robertson said that when an officer pulls over a vehicle to conduct a stop, officers will then read a demand to order the driver to provide a breath sample into an approved screening device to determine if they have alcohol in their system or not.
Mandatory alcohol screening isn’t a new concept, with the authority to do so being within police powers since 2018 after changes to Canada’s Criminal Code.
Since then, several police services across the country have made changes to allow for officers to demand a breathalyzer without cause.
In Saskatchewan, Regina police made the change in March 2024, with the provincial RCMP doing the same a month later in April.
Asked why Saskatoon police waited until 2026, Robertson said they wanted to see how it worked for other police services.
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