Penalties to include $1K fine for first offence, $2K fine for second and subsequent offences
The Saskatchewan government has announced its intention to amend the province’s Traffic Safety Act to introduce speedier and more effective administrative penalties for drivers who have failed a roadside breath test.
“Impaired driving remains one of the leading causes of serious collisions in our province, and Saskatchewan continues to have some of the highest alcohol-impaired driving rates in Canada,” said Travis Keisig, legislative secretary to the minister responsible for Saskatchewan Government Insurance, in a news release. “That must change.”
Under the planned new approach to impaired drivers, the provincial government will impose immediate administrative penalties, including:
- driver’s licence suspension
- vehicle impoundment
- a requirement for ignition interlock
- impaired education courses
- safe driver recognition penalties, including demerit points
- financial penalties comprising a $1,000 fine plus a 30 percent victim surcharge for the first offence, and a $2,000 fine plus a 30 percent victim surcharge for the second offence and subsequent offences
The Saskatchewan government clarified that it would keep dealing with offences leading to fatalities, injuries, or property damage, as well as offences involving passengers under 16 or drivers declining to give a breath sample, through charges under the Criminal Code, 1985.
Goals of planned changes
The Saskatchewan government explained that the potential changes seek to discourage impaired driving, strengthen road safety in the province, and help law enforcement hold impaired drivers accountable, remove them from roads sooner, and spend less time on paperwork and more time keeping people safe on highways and in communities.
“The changes we are moving towards would give police an additional tool to act quickly at the roadside, while preserving their discretion to proceed with Criminal Code charges in serious cases or whenever criminal prosecution is warranted,” said Tim McLeod, Saskatchewan’s justice minister and attorney general, in the province’s news release.
McLeod added that the possible amendments aim to help make the impacts of impaired driving more certain and effective, support public safety, decrease unnecessary pressure on the justice system, and enable police officers, prosecutors, and courts to focus their resources on crucial areas.
The Saskatoon Police Service and the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police expressed approval for the potential changes.
“Administrative penalties allow officers to impose consequences in real-time, rather than months later, while maintaining criminal investigations and prosecutions where circumstances require it,” said Chief Patrick Nogier, president of the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police.
“We applaud the Saskatchewan Government taking this important step to strengthen impaired driving laws, protect the public and reduce the burden on the justice system,” said Steve Sullivan, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada chief executive officer.
“We are grateful for the work of the Impaired Driving Advisory Committee and our partners in helping shape this approach, which represents an important step toward reducing impaired driving and protecting people in Saskatchewan,” Keisig added.
