NWT legislators slow to endorse tougher laws for drinking drivers
Dave Sullivan
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Apr 06/01) - Anti-drunk driving advocates fear Northwest Territories MLAs may shy away from tougher standards on blood-alcohol levels.
"I'm worried the legislation is going to end up watered down by people afraid to take a hard line on drinking and driving," said Michelle Thom, a founder of Students Against Drunk Driving.
The NWT and Quebec are the only jurisdictions that have failed to adopt .05 standard for alcohol in the blood and Thom worries that constituents are pressuring MLAs to keep it at the current level of .08.
The proposal to bring territorial standard in line with the rest of Canada will again go before territorial legislators in June.
The proposed changes, which would also require police to pull drunks off the road with instant suspensions, and toughen penalties for impaired driving were yanked from the government agenda in February - partly because of disagreement over allowing passengers in the back of pickup trucks in small communities.
"In some of the smallest communities in the territories there isn't a taxi service," said Inuvik-Boot Lake MLA Floyd Roland.
Roland chairs a committee of MLAs who will study the proposed changes after they are presented to the legislature. He agrees with lower blood alcohol limits, but said "any time you deal with people's choices, it draws some controversy."
Roland was cautious about endorsing roadside suspensions for drivers, and said his support will depend on how the proposal is worded.
"There is opposition" to making life tougher for drunk drivers in the territory, according to Carla Powell, a spokesperson for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
Powell recently visited Yellowknife to lobby for stricter measures. She wanted to meet with Transportation Minister Vince Steen, but had to settle for department officials.
Steen did not respond to Yellowknifer requests for an interview.
Gary Walsh, Transportation department registrar, said roadside suspensions are part of the package that will forwarded to the politicians.
Penalties for impaired driving will be based on a sliding scale that will increase in severity as the percentage of alcohol in the blood rises over .05, he said.
After the proposed changes to the Motor Vehicle Act are introduced in the legislature, they will go to a committee of MLAs and then to public hearings.
Thom said delays in adopting tougher standards are costing lives.
"We have the worst record in Canada next to the Yukon," she said.
Territorial government statistics show the rate of impaired driving charges is 2.5 times higher in NWT than the rest of Canada.
According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, 60 per cent of NWT car fatalities involve alcohol, compared to a Canadian average of 38.2 per cent.
A 1996 territorial government report said that "unlike much of Canada, a significant number of drinking and driving collisions involve snowmobiles and all terrain vehicles."
The report, a detailed territorial strategy on reducing drunk driving, said that 30 per cent of NWT drivers charged with impaired driving are repeat offenders and five per cent have at least four convictions.
Thom is not pleased with the five-year delay at getting the report and its proposed Motor Vehicle Act changes on the front burner.
Since the report was published, "there have been a few deaths. We need the changes now," Thom said.
