Through the back door, Quebec’s tolerance towards drunk driving made its way into the headlines thanks to another story of citizens who had to pay $100 for the privilege of speaking to a minister.
Antoine Bittar and Elizabeth Rivera lost their daughter to a drunk and repeat driving offender. Since then, to give a semblance of meaning to this drama, they have campaigned for Quebec to impose “administrative measures” from 0.05 mg.
It is this couple who put the CAQ in the spotlight last week by revealing that they had been invited to meet the Minister of Transport Geneviève Guilbault, in exchange for a political contribution of $100 to the government party…
But let’s get to the bottom of things, let’s discuss what the Bittar-Rivera couple is contesting: the Quebec exception in matters of drunk driving.
The limit of 0.08 falls under the Criminal Code, therefore the federal one. Beyond this limit, you are liable to criminal prosecution. So what is this debate about administrative measures, beyond 0.05?
It comes under the jurisdiction of the provinces. In fact, there is no real “debate” at the Canadian level: this debate is settled. All Canadian provinces impose penalties on motorists caught with more than 0.05 mg of alcohol in their blood: license suspensions, vehicle impoundment.
All provinces… Except Quebec.
The last “debate” took place almost twenty years ago when the Liberals were in power. A strong outcry from bars and restaurants had nipped the idea of administrative measures at 0.05 mg in the bud: the State, it was accused, was going to kill fun and the entire pleasure industry…
The Quebecer was able to continue driving a little hot without fear of being worried.
At the start of 2024, Minister Geneviève Guilbault is leading a legislative overhaul to improve Quebec’s road safety record. The ambitions are strong, matching the deterioration of the road toll.
But the minister has shown no intention so far of forcing Quebecers to drive cooler. At my microphone, a few months ago, she was very clear on this: Quebec does not intend to imitate the other provinces and ring motorists’ bells as soon as they cross the 0 mark, 05.
I say “drive a little hot” on purpose. The threshold of 0.08 sends a strange signal: below this bar, we would be fasting, perfectly fit to drive. This is completely false.
I quote the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec1 : “According to several studies, driving with a blood alcohol level as low as 50 mg/100 ml significantly increases the risk of a fatal collision. According to a Quebec study, driving with a blood alcohol level varying between 51 and 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood increases the risk of a fatal collision by approximately four times. The risk of a fatal collision increases exponentially as blood alcohol content increases…”
This observation is not even controversial. A whole body of studies over decades has demonstrated this: even if we are a little hot, we make driving errors that we would not make on an empty stomach.
This is probably why, in the West, it is the 0.05 rule2 which sets the threshold for the criminalization of drunk driving. Australia, Austria, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland: all of these countries have a maximum limit of 0.05.
Japan: 0.03. Sweden: 0.02!
In short, on this, Canada stands out in the industrialized world with extreme tolerance, at 0.08. The provinces have acted to compensate for this extreme tolerance from the federal government which, on this as in so many matters, hovers 30,000 feet above reality.
The provinces therefore acted… But not Quebec.
I don’t know what this lack of political courage is about. No doubt the desire not to hinder the proverbial joie de vivre of Quebecers. However, this political courage was not lacking in the face of smoking.
In short, even if as a whole, the reform of Mme Guilbault does not lack ambitions, in this regard, she lacks them: the minister above all does not want to hinder the inalienable right of Quebecers to drive a little hot.
I hoped that the Bittar-Rivera couple would succeed in relaunching this debate so that Quebec becomes modern in terms of drunk driving. But the CAQ deputies opted to be as cowardly as the Liberals of 2007 and 2010, as reported by Tommy Chouinard.
After that, the Caquists will be offended at being described as monuncles… Allowing Quebecers to drive a little hotter than our neighbors without being hassled: it’s really a decision that will please the monuncles.
1. Consult the INSPQ website
2. Visit the WHO website