Canada's Blood Alcohol Laws Stricter than Most Countries
The permissible blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in Canada's Criminal Code is 0.08, or 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. Some argue this limit is too high. They say it shows Canada lags behind other countries in its fight against impaired driving.
Proponents of a lower criminal limit point to nations with lower BACs, such as Australia, Belgium, France and Sweden, claiming Canada should follow their lead and lower its criminal BAC limit to 0.05.
The Canada Safety Council has released a study comparing Canada's blood alcohol laws to those in 77 jurisdictions across 20 developed countries, Canada's Blood Alcohol Laws - an International Perspective. The analysis suggests that Canada could be bucking international norms if it were to legislate a criminal response for lower BACs.
The Canada Safety Council commissioned the study to provide a credible, detailed and current analysis of how Canada's blood alcohol laws compare with other developed countries. It shows how a legal expert sees Canada's blood alcohol limits in the international context.
Comparisons are Complex
Prof. David Paciocco of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, author of the report, found that the approach to BAC law internationally is complex and varied. This led him to question the validity of an argument based on foreign legislation to justify changes in Canada's blood alcohol law.
He concluded that simplistic generalizations are unrealistic. Countries with BAC limits of 0.05 or lower tend not to use criminal law at the 0.05 level, as Canada would be doing by amending the Criminal Code.
In most of those countries, drivers with BAC's below 0.08 are simply fined. Where licence suspensions are possible, they tend to be for extremely short periods of time. To put 0.05 in the Criminal Code would mean more people would receive criminal records, year long suspensions, and potentially even prison terms. Prof. Paciocco's study shows it is not helpful to say that 0.05 is the standard in some other countries, and that Canada should follow those countries without appreciating the differences in how the relevant legislation treats convicted drivers.
Canada's Blood Alcohol Laws - an International Perspective reveals that Canada's sanctions for impaired driving are among the strictest in the world, even when compared with jurisdictions which have 0.05 BAC limits. For example, a driver who has a BAC of 0.09 but does not show signs of impairment is treated less severely in any of the countries with 0.05 BACs than in Canada.
Federal and Provincial BAC Legislation
It is misleading to focus solely on the Criminal Code of Canada to claim that it is permissible in Canada to drive at alcohol limits of up to 0.08. A more accurate statement of the law in this country would be that in most provinces and territories it is impermissible to operate a motor vehicle at BACs of more than 0.05, but this only becomes a criminal matter when levels exceed 0.08. Of the 13 provinces and territories, 10 have adopted temporary BAC licence suspension legislation at levels below 0.08. Drivers in these jurisdictions who are found to have BACs over 0.05 are stopped from driving.
Making conduct criminal is society's ultimate condemnation. The Criminal Code of Canada addresses transgressions such as murder, robbery and assault, that violate basic societal norms. In several other countries, including Australia and New Zealand, BAC provisions are found in motor vehicle acts along with offences such as speeding and improper lane changes.
BAC Law is Strict Enough
The Canada Safety Council has been vocal in its support for keeping the 0.08 criminal limit. Overall the report confirms what we already knew from other sources, that Canada's blood alcohol laws are among the strictest in the world. However, there were some surprises. For instance, we thought Sweden's .02 limit was a criminal offence. In fact, criminal sanctions only start at the .10 level, which is higher than in Canada.
The extensive coverage of American blood alcohol laws was not expected. However, a truly international examination of blood alcohol laws must include the US, where most state jurisdictions don't criminalize for BAC offences, and are just starting to lower their limits to 0.08 from .10. One state (Massachusetts) has no blood alcohol law at all.
The next step in Canada's fight against impaired driving is not to lower the criminal BAC, but to make existing legislation work better. Resources are urgently needed to help police enforce the 0.08 limit, to enable courts and crown attorneys to process charges efficiently, and to treat offenders with alcohol problems.
Safety Canada, April 2002
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