Care and control is an impaired driving offence under section 320.14 of the Criminal Code. A person commits this offence by having care or control of a motor vehicle while their ability to operate it is impaired by alcohol or drugs, or while their BAC is at or above 80 mg per 100 mL of blood — even if the vehicle is not moving.
The most common care and control scenario involves a person found sitting in a parked vehicle while intoxicated. The Crown does not need to prove the person was driving or intended to drive. Under section 320.35, a person found in the driver's seat is presumed to have care and control unless they can establish that they did not occupy the seat for the purpose of setting the vehicle in motion.
Defence strategies in care and control cases focus on rebutting this presumption — for example, by showing the accused entered the vehicle only to sleep, stay warm, or retrieve belongings, with no intention or realistic risk of driving. The accused's plan for getting home, the location of the keys, and whether the engine was running are all relevant factors.