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This article was published 23/8/2018 (764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Police Service isn’t sure it will have government-approved roadside saliva-testing devices for drivers suspected of being under the influence of drugs when marijuana is legalized Oct. 17.

"There’s still a whole bunch of things that need to happen," said WPS impaired driving counter measures co-ordinator Stephane Fontaine. "Public Safety Canada is trying very hard to ensure law enforcement agencies have access to this equipment prior to the date of legalization of recreational marijuana, but right now we’re not mandated to use these devices.

Before any equipment can be used by law enforcement agencies, it needs to be approved by the Attorney General of Canada and amended into the Criminal Code. (Rich Pedroncelli / The Associated Press)

"We have to wait for an approved fluid-testing device. That will happen in a matter of time, as there’s one device identified that’s going through the approval process now, but even then we’ll still have to purchase the devices and get people trained to use them."

The federal government indicated July 19 that it intends to approve a collection kit and fluid-testing device produced by a company named Drager that markets itself as a "global pioneer in roadside drug testing devices."

Before that equipment can be used by law enforcement agencies, however, it needs to be approved by the Attorney General of Canada and amended into the Criminal Code.

"Law enforcement agencies are not yet mandated to use these things, but it is an extra tool that’s been identified as an option," Fontaine said.

The device will be used only to detect the presence of marijuana and cocaine, not whether a driver is impaired. A positive result for either drug will provide police with a mandate to pursue proof of impairment, such as a blood test.

Fontaine stressed that even though the WPS, alongside other law enforcement agencies around the country, might not have roadside fluid-testing devices ready come October, it’s not as if there aren’t existing policies in place to detect drug-impaired drivers.

"Don’t think we have nothing in place," he said. "We have people trained to do field sobriety tests. We have drug-recognition experts trained to do tests on people we believe to be impaired by drugs. In my opinion, the field sobriety test is actually the best test," he said.

"Oral fluid doesn’t show impairment, it shows the presence of two particular drugs, marijuana and cocaine. It has limited capabilities when compared to the field sobriety tests. Once approved, the oral fluid testing will simply be another option at our disposal."

He went on to say that contrary to concerns previously expressed by some critics, law enforcement agencies will not be collecting DNA evidence from the test samples.

When the test is approved, the Criminal Code will make clear the results cannot be used for any purpose other than determining the presence of the marijuana or cocaine, he said.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @rk_thorpe