Photo: Francis Vachon Le Devoir La ministre des Transports du Québec, Geneviève Guilbault, lors d’un entretien avec l’équipe éditoriale du «Devoir», à Québec, en mai
By refusing to lower the driving alcohol limit to 0.05 despite favourable opinions from the Société d’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), public health experts, several coroners and even some members of her caucus, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault has “lost her credibility,” according to the opposition.
During a press briefing held Tuesday morning at the Parliament Building, Liberal MP Monsef Derraji deplored the minister’s attitude since the beginning of what he calls the “drunk driving scandal.” According to revelations from Devoir, the SAAQ had sent a favourable opinion in the fall of 2023 to impose administrative sanctions on all drivers whose blood alcohol level exceeded 0.05. François Legault’s government did not want to follow suit.
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After refusing to grant us an interview, Geneviève Guilbault indicated that she had not “seen” the document in question. An argument that does not hold water, according to Monsef Derraji, who had obtained a redacted version of the document at the end of September, tabled in the House a few days later in front of the CAQ minister.
“Today, the minister cannot say that she did not know,” Mr. Derraji hammered home to the parliamentary press. “She knew that there was an opinion. I can understand that she was not aware before last week, but eight days later, I think that at the very least, a competent minister surrounded by a competent team [will] hold a meeting with his team, ask for the opinion, read it and be ready to comment on it.”
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Without formally requesting the resignation of his counterpart, the Liberal spokesperson for Transport believes that Ms. Guilbault “simply no longer has the credibility to ensure road safety.” He accuses her of having “ignored” the advice of her Crown corporation.
“She decided to put the lid on the pot and not proceed with what was going to be a decision that was going in the right direction: we want to save lives,” added Québec solidaire MNA Etienne Grandmont, whose political party supports a downward revision of the permitted alcohol level.
Without taking a clear position on the need for such a change, the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, also accused the Minister of Transport of having failed in her duty in the wake of the debate on drinking and driving that shook the National Assembly in February, when the government refused to take advantage of the study of a bill to lower the legal limit.
“One of two things: while the debate was truly unavoidable in the National Assembly, [she was] either negligent to the point of not reading the study commissioned by her department on this subject, [or] she is simply lying, and we cannot trust her word,” he said.
Asked about his party’s position on a blood alcohol level, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon simply said Tuesday that he wanted to consult all the available studies before adopting a firm stance. “There are studies that show that the mortality rate on Quebec roads is not higher than in jurisdictions with a 0.05 limit,” he said.
The Liberal Party has already clearly indicated its intention to reduce the permitted blood alcohol level to 0.05 in a bill tabled in March. Québec solidaire also supports this initiative. According to our information, at least three members of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) would have liked to support such a bill, but had to toe the party line.
Quebec “severe”
Earlier this year, Geneviève Guilbault justified her decision not to change the maximum blood alcohol limit authorized for driving — currently 0.08 — by emphasizing that Quebec was one of the “severest places in Canada” when it came to regulating this type of offence.
However, according to data obtained by Le Devoir, the number of road checks has dropped by nearly 30% since 2018 across all Quebec police forces. Furthermore, even though the law prohibits in principle having 80 mg of alcohol or more per 100 ml of blood, only people above 100 mg are considered by the police to be intoxicated, we found.
“The only argument that Ms. Geneviève Guilbault had on the table: ‘listen, we have the best measures, and our road checks work.’ That argument has been demolished,” mocked Monsef Derraji on Tuesday.
In February, the CAQ government’s decision to maintain the current penalties for drunk driving was made despite a notable appearance before a parliamentary committee by a couple grieving the death of their daughter in a car accident involving drunk driving. Elizabeth Rivera and Antoine Bittar deplored having had to pay for tickets to a CAQ fundraising cocktail to express their grievances to Minister Guilbault.
In Canada, only the Yukon and Quebec still have a maximum limit higher than 0.05.
More details to follow.