A pub owner in Kelowna, B.C., says the police practice of parking cruisers outside his establishment to discourage drinking and driving is killing his business.

Ted Turton, owner of the McCollough Station pub, said he's seen sales drop by 50 per cent or more in recent months because of the introduction of Canada's toughest drinking and driving laws in B.C. -- and something police call the "targeted enforcement" of impaired drivers.

Turton said police frequently park a cruiser outside of his establishment. He says it's a warning to patrons who may drink too much and get behind the wheel when they leave.

"Here are our front doors and here is where the police car is parked," Turton told CTV News, showing where the patrol car sits outside.

Turton said the technique intimidates his customers, some of whom decide not to come inside at all.

"We will have a guest drive in, they'll see the marked car and they'll say, ‘Well, I think I'll go home.' They're just -- they're scared," he said.

But the RCMP say being a visible presence outside of drinking establishments has always been a part of their enforcement strategy and they have no plans to stop it.

"I can tell you that the Kelowna RCMP has not increased our targeted enforcement at licensed establishments since the new legislation came out in September," Sgt. Ann Morrison said.

B.C. Solicitor General Rich Coleman said police can't arbitrarily disrupt pub patrons, saying police need to have probable grounds to issue a breathalyzer test to someone.

"And just somebody walking out of an establishment is not reasonable probable grounds," he told reporters Tuesday.

Coleman raised eyebrows yesterday when he suggested the province's new .05 legislation may be reviewed in the spring to ensure the efficacy of the law.

"There's some concerns about how it's being applied," he said.

"It is time when you look at a law, to see if there's a way to make it fairer for the individual that's charged, if there's something that can be improved, and I think that's true of any piece of legislation."

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Kent Molgat

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