Ottawa councillor found guilty of impaired driving

Coun. Matthew Luloff was found guilty on all charges after driving home impaired in 2024. CTV’s Katie Griffin reports.

Ottawa Coun. Matthew Luloff says he takes “responsibility for my actions” after being found guilty of impaired driving during the summer of 2024.

A judge found Luloff guilty on Thursday morning of operating a vehicle while impaired and one count of having blood alcohol content above 80 mg per 100 ml of blood two hours after ceasing to operate a vehicle.

Luloff was sentenced to a 12-month driving ban and a $3,500 fine, with a 30 per cent victim fine surcharge, which he must pay within six months.

“I take responsibility for my actions,” Luloff said inside a courtroom at the Ottawa Courthouse after the verdict was delivered.

“I’ve taken steps over the last two years to ensure this never happens again.”

Luloff was arrested in July 2024 and had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Justice Michael Boyce found some of Luloff’s Charter rights were violated, including that the reasons for his detention were not conveyed promptly and the search of a satchel was unlawful.

The councillor for the ward of Orléans East-Cumberland was arrested at his home on July 6, 2024.

A witness told the trial that they encountered Luloff’s vehicle as it was being driven “erratically” in Ottawa’s east end just before midnight on July 5, 2024. The witness told the trial that the vehicle was “swerving all over the road, hitting the curb like a bumper car.”

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A 42-minute video of Luloff providing a breath sample was entered as evidence during his impaired driving trial in January. The trial heard Luloff registered twice the legal limit during two breathalyzer tests at the Ottawa police cellblock.

Boyce told the court that the witness who called 911 provided “powerful evidence of impairment at this critical time.”

“The poor driving was demonstrated in a variety of different ways, and this supports the conclusion that Mr. Luloff was experiencing deficiencies in several areas, including coordination and attention,” Boyce said.

“This is supported by the long signal light, driving through the bike lane, the abrupt turn into Wendy’s and the apparent failure to account for the speed bumps, all in conjunction with an inability to control his vehicle on Innes Road. This evidence satisfies me beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Luloff’s ability to operate a motor vehicle was impaired by alcohol.”

Police officers testified the hood of the Jeep was warm when they arrived minutes after receiving the 911 call reporting an impaired driver.

“The recency of the driving vis-à-vis Mr. Luloff positioning at the open door of his own vehicle is strong circumstantial evidence that he was the driver,” the judge said.

Boyce pointed to the fact that no one else was inside the Jeep or in the vicinity other than Luloff.

He also recalled how the breath technician asked Luloff if there was a collision involved on his drive home, to which he answered, “No.” He told the same breath technician that he’d been eating at Wendy’s and trying to go to bed.

“The above circumstantial evidence satisfies me beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Luloff was the person operating the Jeep,” Boyce said.

“Mr. Luloff’s status as the registered owner of the vehicle, the fact that he was found in proximity of the vehicle parked in his driveway moments after it was seen being operated by a lone occupant in the middle of the night with no one else around, and his statement about eating at the very location the vehicle was last followed from viewed cumulatively satisfies me beyond a reasonable found that he was the person operating the vehicle.”

‘I take responsibility for my actions’

In a post on Facebook at about 11:30 a.m., Luloff said he accepted the ruling by the judge.

“I want to say clearly that I take responsibility for my actions,” Luloff said.

“Driving while impaired is dangerous and puts lives at risk. My decision that night reflected a serious lapse in judgment and I accept the consequences that come with it.”

Luloff said he remains committed to serving residents in his ward of Orléans East – Cumberland.

“I know that many people in our community are disappointed,” Luloff wrote.

“I understand why. As a public servant, I am expected to meet a high standard of conduct and on this occasion, I did not meet that standard. I am grateful to my family and close friends who stood by me during an extremely difficult period.”

Defence alleged Charter breaches

The lawyer for Luloff argued during the trial that key evidence for the Crown should be excluded and all charges should be dismissed due to a number of alleged breaches of Luloff’s Charter rights.

Lawrence Greenspon alleged there were seven breaches of Luloff’s rights guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including:

• Police entering onto his property without a warrant.
• Telling Luloff they were investigating a traffic complaint and not an impaired driving complaint.
• Unlawful detention by the way officers parked their vehicles blocking the driveway.
• Searching Luloff’s satchel which contained keys to the Jeep without a warrant.
• Delaying his rights to counsel.
• Forgetting to read a demand for a breath sample until he got to cellblock.

Luloff has been an Ottawa councillor since 2018, including representing the riding of Orléans East-Cumberland since 2022.

He was born and raised in Ottawa’s east end and served with the Governor General’s Foot Guards and the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.

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