CHAT News file photo.

By Alex McCuaig

Impaired driving legislation

Mixed reaction to decriminalization of some impaired driving offences

Jun 5, 2020 | 4:54 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The move in Alberta to decriminalize some aspects of impaired driving in an effort reduce the offence may seem counter-intuitive but legislation to do just that is being supported by a leading advocacy group and police.

But it is also resulting in some saying the move is an attack on civil liberties and gives police the ability to be judge and jury at the side of a road.

The UCP government’s proposed legislation would give police the ability to issue administrative penalties to impaired drivers for first-time offenders – including fines and driving suspensions – instead of charging them with a criminal offence.

If passed, vehicles of first-time impaired drivers would be impounded for 30 days instead of three, appeals would be heard in front of an adjudicator instead of a judge and mandatory driver education would be required for repeat offenders.

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The move has been endorsed by the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada.

But Medicine Hat defence lawyer Rob Robbenhaar says the implications of moving the offence out of the courtroom and onto the side of the road is an erosion of civil liberties.

“The best prevention for someone is a criminal record,” said Robbenhaar. “With what they are proposing, you are going to give up the presumption of innocence. You’re going to give up all your Charter protection. Basically, a police officer says you failed at a road-side sample.”

While appeals would be available with an adjudication process, Robbenhaar says the success rate in the process is about six per cent.

City police, however, support the move and Insp. Brent Secondiak rejects the criticism that it gives police too much authority.

“I think it’s unfounded,” he said, adding there are a number of offences in which police can act to suspend and sanction drivers. “I think the plus side of that is there is no criminal record on a first offence. I think there is a lot of benefits to the community in that regard.”

Secondiak says prosecuting impaired driving criminal offences can involve a lot of police and court resources and pointed to similar legislation in B.C. which saw a reduction in drunk driving and related deaths after it was introduced in 2011.