The Short Version:
a. The police can require you to provide several samples of your breath.
b. They can also require you to do sobriety tests.
The Long Version:
Section 254(2) of the Criminal Code allows the police to demand a breath sample into an “approved screening device,” or ASD. This same section allows the police to require you to do “sobriety tests.” To make these demands, the police are not held to the same standard as when they make a breathalyzer demand under Section 254(3) of the Criminal Code. To make an ASD demand or a demand for a sobriety test, the police only need have a “reasonable suspicion” that the accused has alcohol in their body. These tests usually take place at the roadside.
Section 254(3) of the Criminal Code allows the police to demand that the accused provide breath samples into one of several types of “breathalyzers.” In Alberta, this machine will likely be an Intoxilyzer 5000C. For the demand to be valid, the demanding officer must have “reasonable and probable grounds” that the accused`s ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired by alcohol or a drug to some extent. If they do not have these grounds, the demand will be invalid.