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Saskatchewan is moving closer to decriminalizing impaired driving, ensuring drunk drivers are penalized quicker and with more consistency through a provincial traffic ticket. That from Saskatchewan’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General.
Tim McLeod says increasing administrative penalties relating to operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol could be a topic of discussion at the Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly fall sitting, which begins this Tuesday in Regina.
He says the government is moving towards expanding administrative penalties to include drivers with a blood alcohol content at or above the legal limit of .08, which will give police more immediate tools to address impaired driving right on the roadside.
“We’ll be introducing a variety of pieces of legislation over the fall, so it’s anticipated that these could be some of those changes that are introduced in the fall sitting,” he said. “They’d be debated through the fall, and these changes would have to be introduced as an amendment to the Traffic Safety Act.
“Legislation that’s debated in the fall is traditionally passed in the spring.”
McLeod said some people misunderstand what this change would mean.
“Some people using the term [decriminalizing] are misunderstanding that the consequences are essentially the same,” he said. “The suspensions, the impound of the vehicle, all of those things still exist.
“Impaired driving is an incredibly reckless and dangerous offense, and it’s a very serious offense that we take very seriously,” added McLeod. “So we’re making sure that the penalties that are imposed are swift and certain, and consistent regardless of whether you’re charged under the Criminal Code or under the Traffic Safety Act.”
He shared that this is something Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been pushing for years. Alberta, Manitoba, and British Columbia have already enforced such changes, showing significant decreases in serious and fatal collisions related to impaired driving.
Under the changes, a traffic safety ticket could be issued, which imposes similar penalties as the Criminal Code, but takes effect immediately.
After being ticketed, drivers would have their license suspended right away and immediately receive a $1,000 fine plus a 30 per cent victim fine and surcharge for the first offense, or $2,000 fine and a 30% surcharge for a second or subsequent offense.
If the charge is laid under the Criminal Code, the fine is left to the court’s discretion.
“All of those processes are very public facing and have opportunity for people to follow along if they’re interested,” said McLeod. “We look forward to having some exciting announcements further in the future.”
