P.E.I.’s attorney general says the province is considering automatic roadside penalties for people who are caught driving impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Right now, impaired drivers are charged under the Criminal Code of Canada and have their cases work through the courts — with the opportunity to get a lawyer, elect which court will hear their case, enter a plea and proceed to trial if they so wish. This can take months.
However, in the legislature on Wednesday, backbench PC MLA Robin Croucher called for harsher and more immediate penalties, handled with immediate administrative actions rather than criminal charges.
In British Columbia, for example, police were given the power to issue 90-day suspensions for drivers who blow over 0.08 on a Breathalyzer, as well as impose penalties and fees that add up to $3,750. A recent Supreme Court of Canada ruling upheld their right to do so, except when drivers refused to take a breath test.
“Impaired driving in our province continues to be an extreme issue. This cultural epidemic continues to have severe and life-threatening consequences for family, friends, and loved ones and continues to absolutely devastate our communities,” Croucher told the House during question period Wednesday.
“It is a cultural epidemic,” Attorney General Bloyce Thompson, who is also the justice and public safety minister, said in his response. “It’s an epidemic that we have to do something about.”
‘A different way of looking at it’
After question period, Thompson told CBC News the province has been approached by Mothers Against Drug Driving (MADD) about the idea of automatic roadside penalties and plans to explore the policy proposal in the new year.
