Ontario plans stiff new laws, beefed up penalties for drug-impaired drivers
TORONTO — Ontario plans to introduce tough new penalties for drug-impaired drivers ahead of the legalization of recreational marijuana next July.
Premier Kathleen Wynne said Monday there will be zero tolerance for youths aged 21 and under, novice drivers and all commercial drivers in Ontario who have a detectable presence of drugs or alcohol in their system. The province will also increase all monetary penalties and suspensions for impaired driving offences.
The announcement comes a little over a week after Ontario’s Liberal government announced its plan to distribute and sell recreational cannabis in as many as 150 dedicated stores run by the province’s liquor control board and set the legal age to buy the drug at 19.
“We had a goal to balance the new freedom that people in Ontario will have to use cannabis recreationally with everyone’s expectation that it will be managed responsibly,” Wynne said.