October 19, 2006

MADD:  ‘Quebec nose-dived’ with its ranking in
Rating the Provinces and Territories:  The 2006 Report Card

Montreal, Quebec -- Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Canada released its comprehensive study on provincial and territorial impaired driving laws today and Quebec received a C grade, ranking 9th of 13 jurisdictions – falling six positions since the last report card in 2003.

“A huge negative for the Province is that it remains the only jurisdiction not to have an administrative licence suspension program for roadside,” says Marie Claude Morin, MADD Canada’s Quebec Chapters Manager. “We need our government prepared to introduce new measures in the fight against drinking- and drugs-and-driving. We only need to look at others’ legislation to make our impaired driving laws more effective.”

“Quebec nose-dived, yes,” adds Ms. Morin, “and it is our hope that government officials and politicians will respond positively to the challenge, look at introducing an administrative licence suspension program among other measures, and make our Quebec roads safer from impaired drivers.”

In the document Rating the Provinces and Territories: The 2006 Report Card, MADD Canada presents five core elements as being essential in provincial and territorial efforts to reduce impaired driving:

• a comprehensive graduated licensing program for all new drivers, including express police powers to enforce it;
• a .00% BAC limit for all drivers under 21 or with less than five years driving experience;
• express police powers to stop vehicles, establish sobriety checkpoints, and demand field sobriety testing from suspected alcohol and/or drug impaired drivers;
• strengthening the existing short-term roadside licence suspension programs for drivers with BACs of .05% or higher, to include a 7-14 day licence suspension, a $150–$300 licence reinstatement fee, the recording of the suspension on the driver’s record, and mandatory remedial measures for repeat violations; and
• mandatory alcohol interlock, vehicle impoundment and forfeiture, and remedial programs.

Aside from not having an administrative licence suspension initiative, Quebec scored poorly on its lack of restrictions on drivers in the Province’s graduated licensing program and its failure to introduce vehicle impoundment and vehicle forfeiture programs. 

Manitoba scored the highest grade in the study with an A -.  Manitoba was lauded for its introduction of new legislative reforms including a five-year, zero-BAC for new drivers. 

Full details of RTP 2006, including a podcast interview with study co-author Professor Robert Solomon can be found on www.madd.ca.

For more information, visit www.madd.ca, or call:

Marie Claude Morin, MADD Canada’s Quebec Chapters Manager
1-877-392-6233

Andrew Murie, MADD Canada’s CEO
1-800-665-6233, ext. 224

Also see:

For a complete listing of media releases and resource documents, see the Rating the Provinces web page.