Pubdate: Wed, 22 Nov 2006
Source: Kingston Whig-Standard (CN ON)
Copyright: 2006 The Kingston Whig-Standard
Contact:  http://www.kingstonwhigstandard.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/224
Author: Jim Brown
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)

OTTAWA PLANS CRACKDOWN ON DRUG-IMPAIRED 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 yesterday 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.

"There is no reason why Canadians shouldn't be protected in the same way."

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.

"In that respect, it's essentially the same," said the minister.

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

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.

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

The Tory legislation follows the Liberal model in setting standards 
that police must observe in assessing drug impairment, starting with 
a roadside test of the familiar touch-your-nose or walk-the-line variety.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman