Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Jul 29/98) - Rankin Inlet residents will soon have their say about proposed legislation changes aimed at reducing impaired driving in the NWT where rates are the highest in Canada.

At a public meeting on Wednesday, people will be able to voice their opinion on the changes, outlined in a report prepared by the department of transportation.

Gary Walsh, assistant director and deputy registrar of the motor vehicles division, will be making the presentation to explain the changes. The division will forward the feedback to the minister of transportation before the new legislation goes to cabinet.

Walsh said the 20 recommended changes to the act, all geared toward reducing drinking and driving rates in the North, will bring the NWT legislation closer in line with what is already in place in other jurisdictions across the country.

"We seem to follow the rest of the country -- we're the last," he said. "The bottom line is that we're getting tough with impaired drivers ... if you drink, don't drive."

According to the Department of Transportation, an average of three people are killed and 62 injured in alcohol-related crashes each year. Out of the eight people who died in crashes in 1997, five of them were alcohol-related. An average of 500 people are charged with impaired driving each year.

Changes to the territorial Motor Vehicles Act include longer licence suspensions for convicted impaired drivers, immediate seizure of vehicles driven by people whose licences have been suspended, and an immediate 30-day suspension for drivers caught with over 0.04 blood alcohol content (current legislation is 0.08). The proposed changes also introduce a graduated licensing system that has zero tolerance for alcohol in the blood of new drivers.

Valerie Stubbs, Aqsaaraq Addictions co-ordinator, isn't convinced that the proposed legislation will decrease the number of impaired drivers, but maintained that people should simply chose not to drive if they are drinking.

"You shouldn't be drinking any alcohol if you're driving," she said.

Const. Steve Halliday of the Rankin Inlet RCMP detachment said police are concerned about the impaired driving rates in the region.

"If it continues at this rate, there's only a matter of time before there is a fatality," he said.

Walsh reminds drivers that the legislation doesn't only apply to those operating cars and trucks, but also to those driving ATVs and snowmachines.

"It's also a problem with ATVs and snowmachines -- they contribute to the stats as well," he said.

Walsh said feedback from other areas on the changes has been overwhelmingly positive. "Ninety per cent of people are in favor of the changes."

He said he expects the proposed changes to become legislation in about a year.

Wednesday's meeting at the Siniktarvik Hotel starts at 7:30 p.m. and everyone is welcome.