IMPAIRED DRIVING LAW AMENDMENTS COME INTO FORCE

OTTAWA, December 19, 2001 - The Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, announced today that legislation that targets impaired drivers came into force upon Royal Assent.

The Criminal Code has been amended to expand the use of ignition interlock devices in jurisdictions that offer such a program.

Previously, ignition interlock devices could be authorized only for first time offenders. With this amendment, repeat offenders, as part of their sentencing, will be eligible to participate in an interlock program. It will continue to be up to the provinces and territories to decide whether an ignition interlock device program is made available and how it is administered.

With this amendment, after three months of the minimum prohibition of one year (first offence), six months of the minimum prohibition of two years (second offence) or 12 months of the minimum driving prohibition of three years (subsequent offences), an offender could be permitted to drive the rest of his or her driving prohibition, provided that the person uses an ignition interlock device as part of a provincial or territorial program.

The Government of Canada, by strengthening impaired driving laws in 1999, 2000 and again in 2001, has taken clear, decisive steps towards eliminating tragedies on highways and roads caused by impaired drivers. The government's commitment to ensuring that the criminal law fulfils its role, in combination with other measures aimed at eradicating impaired driving, has resulted in a combination of counter-measures that send the clear message that impaired driving will not be tolerated.

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Ref.:

Farah Mohamed
Minister's Office
Department of Justice
(613) 992-4621

Hal Pruden Counsel
Criminal Law Policy Section
Department of Justice
(613) 941-4138