VANCOUVER — The impounding of a vehicle in British Columbia registered to Saskatchewan's premier, Scott Moe, has brought new attention to the way impaired driving is dealt with in that province.
A Chevrolet Silverado registered to the premier was impounded March 10 for 30 days after a 28-year-old Saskatchewan man failed a roadside sobriety test. The individual was issued an automatic 90-day driving suspension and was ticketed for running a red light.
Vancouver Police confirmed the details without providing names. Premier Moe confirmed to the media that the vehicle was registered to his name, but called it a personal matter.
The incident has sparked plenty of chatter on social media about why criminal charges were not laid for impaired driving under the Criminal Code.
The answer is that impaired driving criminal charges rarely make it to British Columbia courts, as that province prefers to deal with impaired driving administratively through a regime of roadside suspensions, vehicle impoundment and driver education, all done at a significant cost to the impaired drivers.
The province brought in the new laws in 2010, in which impaired driving is largely dealt with outside of the court system, known commonly as the Automatic Roadside Prohibition Program.
This would deal with most ordinary cases where an impaired driver might be pulled over, although criminal charges could still be pursued in the most serious cases where accidents or injuries resulted.
Under B.C.’s Motor Vehicles Act legislation, automatic 90-day licence suspensions are issued to drivers who post readings of over .08. For those with readings of between .05 and .08, shorter suspensions are imposed running three, seven or 30 days.
For those who post readings over .08, their car is impounded for 30 days at the driver's expense and the driver is required to take the Responsible Driver Program if they wish to drive again.
Impoundments of over seven days can be disputed by applying for a review within 15 days.
This regime in British Columbia stands in contrast to other parts of Canada, where impaired driving remains a Criminal Code offence dealt with through the courts.
In Saskatchewan, where the premier's Silverado is registered, impaired driving is a criminal offence and there is also an impoundment regime in place. Convictions for a first offence for impaired driving under the Criminal Code start at $1,000 fines, and driving prohibitions of between one to three years.
But under the B.C. regime, the impact to the impaired driving suspect is substantial even without a criminal conviction.
The driver is on the hook for enrolling in the Responsible Driver Program which alone costs almost $1,000, as well as for costs of impounding and towing the vehicle. An interlock device may also need to be installed, again at the driver's expense. In short, the various costs to get back on the road again quickly run into the thousands of dollars.
Automatic Roadside Prohibitions have received support from those who prefer an approach aimed at rehabilitating impaired drivers, such as responsible driving courses, instead of imposing criminal penalties that may not help address the issues in the long run.
The regime has also received support for its immediate and tough penalties aimed at swiftly removing impaired drivers and their vehicles from the roads, something that might not happen easily with the court process.
But this has not been without controversy. Criminal lawyers have taken up court challenges in the past number of years, arguing the B.C. regime violates Charter rights against unreasonable search and seizure as well as the presumption of innocence. There have also been arguments that the provincial regime has usurped federal jurisdiction with the Criminal Code.
However, a Supreme Court decision of Goodwin v British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles) in 2015 largely upheld the B.C. regime.
