A retrial is underway in Moncton over former NHL player Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau’s impaired-driving charge. Police officers testified about stopping his car in 2020 and tests that they said showed his blood-alcohol level exceeded the legal limit.
Corporal Marc-André Langis was the first witness at the October 8 hearing. He said he stopped Parenteau’s white car in Riverview on March 3, 2020, after it failed to stop at a stop sign and made a sharp turn. The officer testified that he smelled alcohol and asked the driver to take a test.
Langis said the first breath sample was insufficient and the second test was failed. Parenteau was then taken to a Moncton police station, where two further tests showed a reading above the legal limit, according to testimony. Impairment remains an allegation being tested in court.
Defence lawyer Mathieu Boutet questioned the officers about Parenteau’s language rights. Langis said he asked which language Parenteau preferred and called on Sergeant Gordon Brown for the later tests because Brown spoke French. Brown, whose first language is English, testified in French and said he spoke French with Parenteau until the player said they could proceed in English.
Both officers told the court they had the required training to conduct breath tests and had handled hundreds of impaired-driving cases during their careers. Parenteau was acquitted at his first trial in June 2023. An appeal by the Crown resulted in an order for a new trial. The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear a further appeal in November 2025. The next hearing is scheduled for December 15 for closing arguments.