CAQ says no to SAAQ suggestion that would save “up to nine lives” per year

Photo: Drazen Zigic iStockphoto In Canada, only Quebec and Yukon still use the 0.08 alcohol level provided for in the Criminal Code.

Even though the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) states in an opinion that imposing new penalties when the driving blood alcohol level exceeds 0.05 could save up to nine lives annually, Minister Geneviève Guilbault is maintaining the course: the limit imposed in Quebec will not be lowered.

After having redacted an opinion that it had formulated in October 2023 on the imposition of a new driving blood alcohol limit of 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, the SAAQ finally made public on Wednesday the full version of the document, excerpts of which were revealed by Le Devoir on Tuesday.

We learn that the Quebec government corporation took inspiration from British Columbia to propose a new model last October, based on a “scientific consensus,” where a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.08 would be punishable by fines of up to $600 and would result in the imposition of four demerit points. This change, it points out, “would prevent three to nine deaths and approximately ten serious injuries annually.”

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“We have […] reviewed the scientific literature that presents the gains obtained following the imposition of administrative sanctions,” wrote the president and CEO of the SAAQ, Éric Ducharme, in a letter addressed to the chief coroner of Quebec, Reno Bernier. “It appears undeniable that additional gains could be made here in terms of drinking and driving. »

The SAAQ’s opinion, produced just a few weeks before Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault reopened the Highway Safety Code by tabling a bill in the National Assembly, makes very specific recommendations on lowering the alcohol limit for driving in Quebec.

According to its model, a driver caught with a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.08 would be fined “$300 to $600,” in addition to receiving demerit points and a three-day licence suspension.

In his letter to the chief coroner, the CEO of the SAAQ assures that the Crown corporation will continue to “make representations to decision-makers on this subject.” However, in February of this year, the Coalition avenir Québec government definitively refused to lower the current limit rate.

After spending Tuesday saying that she had not seen the notice in question, Minister Guilbault was finally able to consult it before appearing before the media on Wednesday morning. And she will not change her mind, she confirmed in a press scrum. “The decision has been made. The bill that I had on road safety was adopted,” Ms. Guilbault stressed in a press scrum, before emphasizing that there had been “great progress” over the years in terms of impaired driving.

“So, we do not intend to move forward with 0.05,” she said, highlighting a new article in Devoir in which it is revealed that Éduc'alcool, the non-profit organization responsible for informing Quebecers about alcohol consumption, is also opposed to lowering the maximum alcohol level.

In Canada, only Quebec and Yukon still use the 0.08 limit provided for in the Criminal Code.