The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) considers that the implementation of administrative measures to sanction drivers whose alcohol level is between 0.05 and 0.08 is a “promising measure”, according to the conclusion of a redacted opinion consulted by Duty. This document, which dates from November 2023, is in addition to several recommendations made in this regard by the Coroner’s Office and the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) and which the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, ignores.
“ [La SAAQ] has taken note of the scientific literature which presents the gains obtained following the imposition of administrative sanctions for cases where the blood alcohol level is between 50 mg of alcohol/100 ml of blood and 80 mg of alcohol/100 ml of blood. The introduction of such measures can effectively constitute a promising measure in addition to other existing measures. […] That being said, this is a prerogative that belongs to the government,” we can read in a letter signed by Éric Ducharme, president and CEO of the SAAQ, and addressed to the chief coroner, Reno Bernier. This passage, which had been redacted in a document transmitted under the Access to Information Act, was able to be consulted in its entirety by The Duty.
Questioned several times on 1er last October to the National Assembly by Liberal MP Monsef Derraji to find out if she had ordered this notice produced by the SAAQ and why its content was redacted, Minister Guilbault did not respond. She also refused to grant an interview to Duty as part of this investigation, but indicated in writing that she had “not seen the notice”. It maintains its position in the matter and thus still confirms today “its decision not to modify the limit of 0.08”.
Preventable deaths
Across Canada, except in Quebec and the Yukon, drivers who are caught driving with an alcohol level exceeding 0.05 are subject to administrative (non-criminal) sanctions, such as loss of their license for a minimum of three days and a fine of up to $4,000.
According to the Route guide from the SAAQ, available online, a driver whose blood alcohol level is between 0.05 and 0.08 is 4.5 times more likely to be involved in a road accident. In Quebec, drunk driving is the second leading cause of road deaths.
According to the most recent figures from the SAAQ, impaired driving causes an average of 90 deaths per year and 190 serious injuries.
“Current measures have made it possible to reduce the number of deaths on the roads, but they do not work for everyone,” underlines coroner Geneviève Thériault in an interview. There are still preventable deaths, we can do something about that. The other provinces and territories of the country have done so. It has been proven that when we have administrative sanctions at 0.05, it reduces the number of deaths. »
Geneviève Thériault thus reaffirms the position of coroners Julie A. Blondin and Yvon Garneau, who also recommended the implementation of administrative sanctions on drivers as soon as the threshold of 50 mg of alcohol/100 ml of blood is exceeded in May and in October 2023.
No will in government
For almost 20 years, pressure has been regularly put on the Quebec government to penalize driving with a blood alcohol content exceeding 0.05, but the few bills tabled to this effect have died on the order paper.
In August 2023, Minister Guilbault presented her 2023-2028 road safety action plan, highlighting “vision zero”, meaning “zero deaths and serious injuries” on the roads. However, this plan contained no mention of drunk driving.
Last February, while presenting her bill to strengthen the Road Safety Code, Minister Guilbault ruled out measures targeting driving with an alcohol level of more than 0.05. The appearance before the parliamentary committee of Antoine Bittar and Élizabeth Rivera, whose daughter, Jessica, died at the age of 26 on Highway 20 while she was a passenger in a vehicle whose driver was impaired weakened by alcohol, had placed the CAQ in embarrassment. The couple, who are campaigning for tighter controls on drunk driving, revealed that they had been encouraged to buy two tickets at a price of $100 to participate in a fundraising cocktail in order to “speak for two minutes with Minister Guilbault”.
“We didn’t expect it to take this magnitude. […] We were there to tell them that they have the possibility of avoiding another tragedy, of preventing other families from going through what we went through,” said Mr. Bittar in an interview with The Duty. “During our intervention, we didn’t hear a pin drop. They listened, they understood and I guarantee you that if, at that time, we had asked these people to vote, they would all have voted in favor of such a measure,” adds Mr. Bittar, who is convinced that “it’s the party line that’s blocking it.”
A petition relating to measures to be put in place to combat driving while impaired by alcohol was also submitted to the National Assembly. Minister Guilbault responded by affirming that Quebec is one of the “toughest places in Canada” in terms of regulating drunk driving, citing in particular the installation of the ignition interlock device for repeat offenders.
However, SAAQ data highlights that, among impaired drivers who caused road accidents, only 18% were repeat offenders.
Focusing on repeat offenders, “it’s a great excuse,” says Jean-Marie De Koninck, member of the SAAQ Board of Directors and former president of the Quebec Road Safety Table, which brought together 70 stakeholders from of ministries and several organizations under the aegis of the SAAQ. This table, whose work was suspended in 2017, notably recommended adopting administrative measures targeting the alcohol level of 0.05.
The expert points out that more than 70% of people who are stopped for impaired driving are doing so for the first time. The real problem, in his eyes, is that if it is not allowed to drive while “packed”, it is permissible to do so while “hot”. “We are feeling, we’re dizzy, in a good mood, and we shouldn’t be driving. But the law allows it in Quebec, while it does not allow it in the other provinces. »
MPs voted against their will
Last March, the liberal MP Monsef Derraji tabled a bill on drunk driving and the establishment of administrative sanctions, such as a temporary suspension of the driving license and a high fine, upon reaching a rate of alcohol of 0.05 on the roads of the province. The bill was supported by the Parti Québécois and Québec solidaire, but was rejected by CAQ elected officials during the vote.
According to the most recent survey conducted this year by the Association for Public Health of Quebec (ASPQ), this is a measure which divides Quebecers, but which is far from being unpopular since 55% of them are positioning themselves for its adoption.
Why is the CAQ refusing to adopt it? Several explanations were put forward by three CAQ deputies who would have liked to support the bill. They confided in Duty under the guise of confidentiality for fear of being excluded from their party’s caucus.
“I am for adding an administrative measure at 0.05, because it can simply save lives,” explains one of them. I don’t think I was the only person, but the dilemma is that we didn’t want to make it a political issue for the next elections. Everyone was obliged to vote the same way, obviously,” confides one of them.
“There are decisions that are made in high places, and the measures affecting drunk driving are part of them,” confirms another CAQ deputy.
A third is also in favor of restrictive measures concerning the blood alcohol limit while driving and believes that this would have deserved to be the subject of a real debate within the caucus. “I’m more in favor of lowering it, a bit like it’s done in the West. It would actually take a parliamentary commission, a debate on this. »
An eternal debate
The debate on sanctions based on a blood alcohol level of 0.05 is not new. In 2007, the Minister of Transport Julie Boulet wanted to make it a priority when she tabled her bill amending the Road Safety Code. His proposal sparked an outcry within the political class and the restaurant and bar industry, leading the Liberals to abandon it.
“I was proud of this measure because it represented a radical change. It was a measure that would send a strong message and, above all, we followed the recommendations of the Quebec Road Safety Table, recalls Mme Ball. It saddens me to see that, twenty years later, we are in the same place. »
At the time, the INSPQ produced a scientific opinion recommending the adoption of measures targeting alcohol levels from 0.05, mentioning that “drunk driving constitutes a public health issue”. An update of this opinion, which once again recommended these measures, was tabled in the National Assembly as part of the consultations on the road safety bill in 2016. To date, the INSPQ still recommends on its website the implementation of an administrative measure at 0.05.
Professor Tim Stockwell, who directed the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of Victoria from 2004 to 2020, led a study with his team on the case of British Columbia, published in 2013.
Three years earlier, the province introduced a law ensuring that a driver exceeding the alcohol level of 0.05 during a traffic stop would have their car impounded for three days and receive a fine of up to $4000.
By analyzing data on road accidents, injuries and deaths that occurred before and after the measure came into force, Tim Stockwell’s team estimated that it had led to around 40% reduction in number of deaths, a 20% reduction in injuries caused by accidents and a 19.5% reduction in property damage caused by accidents.
In Quebec, the zero alcohol policy applies to learner drivers, drivers under 22 years of age as well as for the transport of people (taxi, bus). There is an administrative measure of 0.05 for the transport of goods and dangerous materials.
In her bill on road safety tabled last February, the Minister of Transport proposed to “impose the “zero alcohol” requirement for all learner motorcyclists”, including those already holding a car driving license.