Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mr. Marchand, Mr. Therrien, Mr. White, Mr. Murie and Ms. Miller.
I will try to summarize my question. Most likely either Mr. Marchand or Mr. Therrien will be able to help us.
When a driver is stopped during a roadside spot check and found to have a BAC of 0.08%, a multi-stage process is initiated. There is still no random testing system in place, or if there is one, it may not be accepted and could even be challenged. I think you are in all favour of a random testing system. My question is directed to Mr. Marchand.
When random testing is in place, people are afraid of being arrested and charged, of having to pay fines, and so forth. In my province of Quebec, when an accident occurs, if you are charged with a criminal offence, that does not necessarily mean you are charged with a civil offence. The person you may have injured or killed will be compensated by the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec. A no-fault system was introduced in 1977.
Before 1977, when alcohol was a factor in an accident, pursuant to section 3 of the insurance company legislation, companies were not responsible for covering damages to a vehicle or personal injuries. Pursuant to the Payette act, which you are equally familiar with, the Government of Quebec assumes partial liability for bodily injuries. Section 3 of the Automobile Insurance Act has been repealed. However, while insurance companies must now cover material damages, i.e. the cost of repairing the car's body work, they turn around and increase their insurance premiums.
We are working together to find ways of increasing people's awareness of drinking and driving and of scaring them. We don't want to send them to prison.
Take, for example, a resident of the small town of La Sarre in the Abitibi region. He must travel 50 kilometres every day to his job in a lumber mill. The family owns only one vehicle, as is often the case. One evening or weekend, after leaving the town bar, he his pulled over and charged. The town has no taxi or transit service. He has no choice but to stay home.
Personally, when I stop in for a drink in Montreal, I don't have a problem because I can catch a taxi or the subway, or walk to my destination. Something isn't quite right here. Yet, when a person finds himself in a bind, he turns to the courts and challenges our legislation. His case may end up before the Supreme Court, cancelling out all of our hard work.
Would you care to propose some solutions, aside from random breath testing and ignition interlock devices?