Justice committee  The source is a study that was done by Transport Canada, where they calculated the number of deaths and injuries; there was a cost value to that. Then we took that cost value and estimated if there was a 20% savings of lives and injuries, what value that would bring back. It look

Justice committee  Absolutely.

Justice committee  We think that Bill C-46 capturing the three different limits has done an excellent job of what we would consider a good beginning with per se levels for drugs. Having between the two and five nanograms as a summary offence, again there are a lot of studies out there. The problem

Justice committee  Canada has seen a dramatic decrease in our alcohol-related deaths. If you go back to the 1980s, it was not uncommon that 70% of our deaths on our roads were alcohol-related. Now we're down to 33.6%, as correctly stated in the report by the Centers for Disease Control. What you h

Justice committee  The simple reason is people who drink and drive don't show.... You have a very quick intervention as a police officer, and if you don't have the overt signs of intoxication right there, you're not picking that up. A lot of times at .05%, you don't see those signs in that quick in

Justice committee  That's been the experience in the U.S. states that have legalized, but we also have to take into consideration that when they legalized in the mess that they did, through a ballot, the police didn't have any tools when legalization came in.

Justice committee  They didn't have the ability to use oral fluids. Their per se levels were set without science and without a lot of thought. We also have the ability in Canada to have provincial sanctions at the administrative level that support this. Our alcohol programs kick in. They can be ve

Justice committee  In a lot of police procedure—especially with the introduction of mandatory alcohol screening—if they can get an individual above the “warn” range, the sanctions are the same, and it's an easier procedure. They'll simply go with the alcohol at the roadside, so that makes it fairly

Justice committee  With one provision—that our provinces have all these things in place by July 1.

Justice committee  I think a lot of provinces are working really hard and working on that deadline.

Justice committee  Thank you. First, I'd like to thank our national president, Patricia, for her courage in sharing her story and being here representing thousands of victims from across Canada. In my remarks today, I will focus specifically on what we consider the most important issue in Bill C-

Public Safety committee  Sure. At the federal level the most important thing you could do right now is the mandatory screening both for alcohol and drugs because it's not just alcohol but also drugs as well. The second thing is, by doing that, you're increasing the ability for the provinces to enforce t

Public Safety committee  There are two things. One is the deterrent factor—mandatory screening, respectable penalties. The other piece we've talked a lot about, and you have talked about, is the whole other side of supporting victims. I can tell you the funds that go to organizations that support victim

Public Safety committee  Absolutely. This bill has made a good start, but there are other pieces that need to be done as well.

Public Safety committee  Absolutely.