Justice committee  In the case of the municipal courts, we view the matter somewhat as a form of decriminalization, since the Criminal Code does not apply. We acknowledge in a way that this is a better way to handle impaired driving cases, particularly when there are no deaths or injuries. For that

Justice committee  We don't believe it's just a matter of cost, but also a matter of the number of cases that can wind up in criminal court, which has an effect on the time required. According to the review by the attorneys general, it's much longer today; it takes way too much time. Coming up wit

Justice committee  At the Canada Safety Council we're really about prevention. This is a bit more after the fact. Certainly we'd like to see people just not drink, and under the highway codes there are certainly penalties that are there right away. You don't have to prove it. If the vehicle is in t

Justice committee  I would like to see the federal government exercise leadership with the provinces to bring them all on the same page. Ontario, for example, will go from three days to seven days to thirty days for the 0.05 starting this May. If this were across the country it would be much easier

Justice committee  Yes, I believe both Alberta and Quebec are two jurisdictions you could look at where this practice has been in use for a few years now. We do believe it's an effective way to get them into a controlled system as opposed to saying they don't exist.

Justice committee  Actually, I can easily provide that piece of research to the committee.

Justice committee  We certainly believe there is a willingness, but there wasn't the political acceptance yet in the province of Quebec. We believe that in time Quebec will likely follow suit.

Justice committee  As per our presentation last year, we're very much in support of the interlock system, particularly when it is applied early on. We do know that many drivers continue to drive, but there is provision under the code to provide a reduced time to get the licence back under certain c

Justice committee  This is an argument by some groups that says because we're not going to take them at 0.09 or 0.08, we should lower it--we're not going to pick them up at 0.05, we're going to pick them up at 0.07 or 0.08. Our view is that this basically says the police are not doing the job. We

Justice committee  One minute, I'm done.

Justice committee  Okay. In summary, the new information that has emerged over the past year reinforces and confirms the recommendations in the Canada Safety Council's February 2008 submission. In the interest of reducing the impaired driving problem in this country, I strongly urge the government

Justice committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thanks to the other committee members. With me today is Émile Thérien, past President of the Canada Safety Council. My presentation will be in English, but we are prepared to answer questions in both official languages. Our submission in February 2008,

Justice committee  My understanding is that Saab has had some success with some of that technology, but it's still experimental.

Justice committee  We're not there yet.

Justice committee  As prevention, this potentially could be brought down. I do agree that the interlock system should be introduced as soon as possible. Whereas in Quebec they can do it after three months, at one point in Ontario they had to wait a year, and then it was a year with the interlock. B