Pubdate: Wed, 22 Nov 2006
Source: Expositor, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 The Brantford Expositor
Contact:  http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1130
Author: Jim Brown, Canadian Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)

TORIES GOING AFTER DRUGGED DRIVERS

Ottawa - The federal Conservatives have brought in legislation to 
crack down on drug-impaired drivers - by resurrecting a plan first 
advanced by the Liberals, adding heavier fines and jail terms, and 
calling the result a Tory initiative.

The bill, tabled Tuesday by Justice Minister Vic Toews, would also 
tighten laws against driving under the influence of alcohol, changing 
the rules of evidence to make it harder to challenge breathalyzer 
tests in court.

The main focus, however, is on those who get behind the wheel while 
high on marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine or a variety of other drugs.

"I can't seriously see people (being) opposed to this type of 
legislation," said Toews, noting that similar measures are already in 
force in many American states.

Opposition MPs insisted they need time to study the bill. And some 
predicted parts of it could be struck down by the courts as a 
violation of the Charter of Rights.

The legislation had been trumpeted in advance by Prime Minister 
Stephen Harper as another step in a broader Conservative law-and-order agenda.

Toews picked up the theme, posing for pictures outside the Commons 
with police, the lobby group Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and a 
family whose son was killed by a drug-impaired driver. All expressed 
support for the bill.

But Toews admitted, when pressed by reporters, that the core of his 
legislation - setting out the legal steps police must follow to prove 
drug impairment - is taken straight from a bill proposed by the 
previous Liberal government.

He went on, however, to point to areas where the Tories had 
"enhanced" the Liberal approach - mainly by boosting the penalties 
upon conviction.

no simple test

Under the new bill, the minimum fine for a first offence of either 
drug-or alcohol-impaired driving would be $1,000 rather than the 
current $600. A second offence would bring a mandatory 30 days in 
jail rather than 14, a third offence 120 days rather than 90.

In the worst cases, the maximum sentence would be life in prison for 
impaired driving causing death and 10 years for causing bodily harm.

The Tory bill also creates a new offence of being in care and control 
of a vehicle while in possession of an illicit drug - something like 
driving with an open bottle of beer.

The penalty would be a mandatory six-month prohibition on driving, in 
addition to jail time that could run up to five years.

Driving while intoxicated by any substance has long been illegal. But 
there is no simple and conclusive roadside test for drug impairment 
to match the well-known breath test that measures alcohol levels.

The Tory legislation follows the Liberal model in trying to solve 
that problem, setting out a series of procedures that police must 
follow in assessing drug impairment.

The first step is a preliminary roadside test of the familiar 
touch-your-nose or walk-the-line variety. If the driver fails that, 
the next step is examination at the station by an officer specially 
trained to recognize signs of drug use. Only after that could police 
finally demand a sample of bodily fluids such as blood, urine or saliva.

Toews expressed confidence the multiple tests would pass muster under 
the Charter, but NDP justice critic Joe Comartin wasn't so sure. "I 
think ultimately it would be unconstitutional," Comartin said.

Sue Barnes, the Liberal justice critic, argued that everything 
depends on funding and proper training of the police officers who 
would conduct the drug tests.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman