Mandatory alcohol screening comes to Saskatoon for the new year

Prepare to blow into a breathalyzer if you get pulled over in Saskatoon.

Starting Jan. 1, the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) is implementing mandatory alcohol screening.

Read more:

• MADD president says mandatory alcohol screening ‘amazing’ way to catch impaired drivers
• Drivers pulled over in Regina in March will face mandatory alcohol screening
• Sask. RCMP to start screening for alcohol at all traffic stops

The screening is starting off as a trial period, with only SPS Traffic Enforcement and Combined Traffic Services Saskatchewan officers administering it for now, according to Sgt. Raymond Robertson.

But, these officers won’t be pulling people over randomly.

“Obviously it’s got to be a lawful traffic stop,” Robertson said, where the person, “committed some kind of traffic offence, whether that be disobeying a red light or stop sign or speeding.”

If someone is pulled over by one of these officers, regardless of the reason, that driver will be read the mandatory alcohol screening demand, “in order to get a sample of [their] breath into an approved instrument,” he said.

According to Robertson, the process of having an officer check that instrument, read the demand, and administer the screening should only take a couple of minutes.

“It’s really not that long of a delay,” he said.

While the delay may not be significant, the consequences of refusing to comply can be, since mandatory alcohol screening was put into the Criminal Code back in 2018.

“So, if an individual does refuse to participate, and does refuse to provide a sample of breath, they can be charged with refusal under the Criminal Code [and] then they’d be arrested and charged officially under a criminal section,” Robertson said.

Other jurisdictions

Implementing mandatory alcohol screening is nothing new in Saskatchewan.

Back in February 2024, the Regina Police Service (RPS) announced that officers in its Traffic Safety Unit would require drivers to take a mandatory roadside alcohol screening test if they got pulled over.

Then, in April 2024, the Saskatchewan RCMP began adding these mandatory screenings to all lawful traffic stops.

While SPS had been conducting discretionary screening, when asked why it took the service so much longer to introduce the mandatory version, he said it’s because the SPS was, “looking at how other services rolled out, what issues they may have experienced, and how to do this in the best way for the people of Saskatoon.”

Measuring success

Determining whether mandatory screening is a success, though, will need to be statistically based, according to Robertson.

He said that will include a decrease in the number of “motor vehicle fatalities” within Saskatoon.

But, for those who undergo the screening and pass, they could receive a small gift.

SGI has funded a certain amount of Tim Horton’s gift cards, according to Robertson, which will be handed out to the sober drivers who pass, “as a thank-you for driving safe and driving sober during the holiday season.”