Impaired driving rules changing

Province decriminalizing first offence, but overall penalties will also be stiffer

Alberta will decriminalize first-time impaired driving but strengthen penalties in a move the government says will deter the behaviour and clear court backlogs.

The province will also move to an online system to handle two million traffic tickets a year to further free up courts.

Instead of criminal charges for those driving at or above .08 milligrams of alcohol-blood content, first offenders will immediately have their vehicles seized for 30 days, their driver’s licence suspended for three months and given a $1,000 fine.

They’ll also be required to undergo 12 months of drug or alcohol-impaired driving education.

Under the current system, firsttime offenders are charged criminally, slapped with a three-day vehicle seizure and a 12-month suspension.

But repeat offenders under Bill 21 and those who inflict death or bodily harm will face criminal charges and increasing penalties, including a lifetime ignition interlock imposition that only allows driving with an alcohol-free breath sample.

“We will pursue criminal charges against repeat offenders. This does not change,” said Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer.

It’s an approach that’s proven effective in B.C. where impaired driving incidents have fallen by 36 per cent from 2011 to 2018 and fatalities by 54 per cent in that time, said Schweitzer.

“This policy saves lives, full stop,” he said, adding rendering first-time offences an administrative matter will remove eight per cent of trial time while freeing up police.

“This will clear up backlogs in courtrooms, getting police back on the street while getting impaired drivers off the road ... this is time that could be spent patrolling communities.”

Those dealt with under the Immediate Roadside Sanctions system will have seven days to seek an appeal by a panel of traffic safety experts who must render a decision within 21 days, said Schweitzer.

Under today’s system, that process can take months or a year to resolve, said the minister, who added the approach has passed the constitutional test.

“It’s a proven system that’s gone all the way to the Supreme Court,” said Schweitzer. Manitoba has also adopted the administrative route for combating impaired driving.

It’s an approach that’s garnered the unanimous blessing from the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police, said Edmonton police Chief Dale Mcfee, by freeing up court time and creating a greater deterrence.

“This is a really positive step forward, to do things quicker and get the right resources (devoted) at the right time and use the right services,” said Mcfee.

But a Calgary defence lawyer said the law in other provinces hasn’t been fully challenged in the courts, adding it poses a glaring threat to civil rights by removing oversight from police that’s normally present in the criminal realm.

“This will allow police unfettered discretion to get away with racial profiling and abuses by suspending licences without good cause, which at a time like this is incredibly tone-deaf,” said Ian Savage, president of the Criminal Defence Lawyers Association who called its appeal process “toothless.”

The legislation, along with an 18-month-old federal law giving police the power to stop drivers and force breathalyzers even without prior suspicion, would render Alberta “a police state, as far as driving goes.”

He also challenged the figures given for a similar law’s impact in B.C., saying they only provide numbers for its first few years. Another Calgary defence lawyer dismissed the law’s deterrent effect after having seen it applied in B.C.

“There’s no drunk driver that wouldn’t prefer an administrative model,” said Alan Pearse.

“It’s basically soft on crime.” About one in 10 traffic fatalities in the province is linked to impaired driving and there’s an average of about 8,600 convictions a year.

Some victims of impaired driving have condemned the approach, saying forgoing those criminal charges removes a deterrent. But the head of the Canadian branch of Mothers Against Drunk Driving said it has proven extremely effective in dissuading drunk driving in B.C.

“That fear of having your car gone for 30 days is a memory that doesn’t leave quickly,” said Andrew Murie.

He said its lower administrative burden gives police more time to nab intoxicated motorists.

Bill 21 appears to be a step in the right direction, given its success elsewhere, said NDP justice critic Kathleen Ganley.

“I am pleased to see the introduction of the administrative sanctions model by the government,” she said in a statement. “The evidence is clear, if properly implemented, this model can save lives.”

But Ganley said it remains to be seen if fair appeal processes are implemented. Meanwhile, it’s hoped that by late 2021, traffic tickets will be handled online instead of in courts that are now saddled by the lower-priority offences.

“This is a burdensome system we can do so much better on ... this is a process that is far more streamlined,” said Schweitzer.