MADD gives P.E.I. a ‘D’ grade

Impairment-related crashes remain leading criminal cause of death in Canada

Prince Edward Island has received a “D” in a new MADD Canada report that looks at legislation aimed at reducing impaired driving.

This province and the neighbouring province of Nova Scotia both received ratings of 56 per cent in the report.

While that grade may seem relatively low, several provinces actually scored lower.

Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick and Quebec all scored lower than P.E.I., with New Brunswick and Quebec both receiving an “F” for a mark of 44 per cent.

Alberta came out on top with a mark of 68 per cent, good for a grade of C+, followed by British Columbia and Ontario, both of which scored a “C”.

MADD Canada says impairment-related crashes remain the leading criminal cause of death in Canada.

“Canadian and international research have identified best practices in impaired driving legislation which will reduce impairment-related crashes, deaths and injuries,” said MADD Canada chief executive officer Andrew Murie.

“It is disappointing that provinces have not adopted these measures in full. Instead, they are implementing them in piecemeal fashion, or not at all.”

Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Manitoba have introduced legislation within the past few weeks to strengthen various impaired driving laws.

“While these changes are not reflected in the current report, they will, when proclaimed and enacted, strengthen each province’s impaired driving laws,” the report states.