President's Perspective

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights is now reviewing the Criminal Code sections on impaired driving. Despite the immense human and financial cost of impaired driving (most Canadians have been affected by it directly or indirectly), this law was last amended almost fourteen years ago.

The law as it now stands leaves the public vulnerable to dangerous repeat offenders who either cannot be convicted because of loopholes and technicalities, or who re-offend after fulfilling their sentence.

Harsher penalties C among the strictest in the world C were prescribed in 1985. But the penalties are not protecting the public because drinking drivers know they probably won=t be caught. Yet research shows that certainty of apprehension is the best deterrent. Visible, effective enforcement has proven without a doubt to be critical in the fight against impaired driving.

One idea that has received a lot of publicity is to lower the legal blood alcohol concentration. Aside from the fact that police cannot adequately enforce the current limit, the most harm is done by hard core drinking drivers. A new, lower limit will not make these repeat offenders stop driving impaired.

Simply having a law on the books is useless and counterproductive unless that law is strictly enforced and upheld by the courts. We want the government to make this law more effective by ensuring that it reflects the problem, that it can and will be enforced, and that sanctions will be applied.

Emile-J. Therien

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