2021 QCCQ 1358, 2021 QCCQ 1358

Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions c. Ahuja 2021 QCCQ 1358 JL4783 QUEBEC COURT CANADA PROVINCE OF QUÉBEC DISTRICT OF DRUMMOND CITY OF DRUMMONDVILLE «Criminal and penal division» N° : 405-61-038622-208 DATE : February 25, 2021 ______________________________________________________________________ BEFORE MADAM TANYA LAROCQUE, JUSTICE OF THE PEACE AND JUDGE ______________________________________________________________________ DIRECTOR OF CRIMINAL AND PENAL PROSECUTIONS Prosecutor c.

MANPREET SINGH AHUJA Defendant ______________________________________________________________________ JUDGMENT ______________________________________________________________________ [ 1 ] The defendant is accused of driving at a speed of 82 km/h on Lemire Boulevard while in a 50 km/h zone on the 7 th of January 2020. [1] The officer observes the defendant’s vehicle slowing down and captures the defendant’s speed at 150 meters from his position.

The speed sign is situated at 550 meters from his position. [ 2 ] On that day, the police officer is using a Doppler that he tested at 7:55 before its use and he tested it again after its use at 18:20. The Doppler is operating well that day.

The officer is qualified to operate the Doppler since Mai 1999. [ 3 ] The Court of Appeal, in the D’Astous [2] case, established that the measurements taken with the radar are exact when : 1) The operator is qualified; 2) The radar was tested before and after its use; 3) The test reveals that the radar is functioning well. [ 4 ] To refute the speed captured, the defendant’s proof must be reliable, precise and pertinent to raise reasonable doubt [3] .

This proof must be sufficiently detailed and be based on exact facts and not on simple hypothesis or probabilities that cannot be verified [4] . [ 5 ] It is sufficient that the defendant’s proof tends to demonstrate that the speed measured is not the speed that existed when the infraction was supposedly committed [5] . A reading of the speedometer by the defendant at a moment judged sufficiently close to the place where his speed was captured can raise a reasonable doubt [6] . [ 6 ] The defendant testimony is vague and imprecise. He is driving 90 km/h on the Boulevard while in the 90 km/h zone.

The authorized speed changes to 50 km/h on the Boulevard. He slows down when entering the 50 km/h zone and his speed is 62 km/h or 63 km/h when the officer pulls him over. The officer does not speak French and the defendant cannot explain his situation. The defendant denies speeding. [ 7 ] The defendant’s testimony does not include the distance between him and the officer when he looks at his speedometer. Therefore, a reasonable doubt is not raised since the Court cannot know if the reading of the speedometer is sufficiently close to the place the speed is captured.

Furthermore, s imply denying the infraction is not a reliable and precise proof to raise reasonable doubt to refute the presumption established by the Court of Appeal. [ 8 ] The defendant mentions the consequences of a guilty verdict, such as the loss of his permit, the loss of his job as a truck driver and the loss of the only income for his family.

The Court sympathizes with the defendant’s situation, but these elements cannot be considered to determine if the infraction was committed or not. [ 9 ] THEREFORE, the court considers that the infraction was committed beyond a reasonable doubt and that the defendant could not bring forth reliable, precise and pertinent proof to raise reasonable doubt to contradict the speed captured by the officer.

[ 10 ] FOR THESE REASONS, THE COURT: [ 11 ] DECLARES the defendant guilty of the infraction. [ 12 ] CONDEMS the defendant to pay a fine of 135$ with costs in the next ninety (90) days of the present judgment. __________________________________ TANYA LAROCQUE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE and JUDGE Me Juliette Ménard-Reid Attorney for the prosecution The defendant is not assisted by an attorney. The services of a Punjab-French interpreter was used at the trial. Date of hearing: February 23, 2021