REGINA, Sask. — Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod is seeking to clear the air about proposed changes to The Traffic Safety Act expected later this fall.
McLeod pointed to “some misinformation circulating” about the impaired driving changes the province plans to bring in."
“The word decriminalize has been thrown around, and that is inaccurate,” McLeod said.
“There is no decriminalization of impaired driving. That's not what's being proposed, it's not what's being discussed, and it's not actually something that the province of Saskatchewan could do.”
What the province is proposing, McLeod said, is to give police officers an additional option to use administrative penalties instead of laying charges under the Criminal Code.
McLeod said the “Criminal Code charges, which are federal, will still apply, and the police will always have that opportunity.”
He added that in certain circumstances, such as when there's a child in the vehicle or an accident or injury has occurred, the “Criminal Code will need to apply. The police will not have that opportunity to use an administrative penalty.”
As for why the province is looking at administrative penalties for certain impaired driving situations, McLeod pointed to other jurisdictions that have moved in this direction and found two benefits.
“Number one, police are able to get back out on the streets faster, which actually removes more impaired driving from the streets, and it has proven to be a greater deterrent.”
He said those provinces “have seen a significant reduction in impaired driving causing bodily harm or impaired driving injuries. So that's certainly something that we're serious about here in Saskatchewan. We want to reduce the incidence of impaired driving, make safer roads and safer communities.”
A criminal record could result if an impaired driving charge were pursued under the Criminal Code and led to a conviction.
However, it “hasn't proven to be a significant deterrent,” McLeod said. He noted that Saskatchewan is “the only province in the western part of the country that hasn't moved in this space, and we have the highest numbers of incidents of impaired driving.”
“So the Criminal Code sanction is there if the Criminal Code is pursued by the police officer, but that criminal record hasn't proven to be an effective deterrent on its own.”
