TORIES TO PROPOSE TOUGH LEGISLATION FOR DRUGGED DRIVERS

KITCHENER, Ont. -- The Conservative government will introduce
legislation this month to crack down on drivers who get behind the
wheel while high on drugs, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced yesterday.

The promised bill will increase penalties for drugged drivers,
provide police with more tools to detect when motorists are high and
promote increased awareness of the problem, the prime minister said.

"When most Canadians think of impaired driving, they think of drunk
driving," Harper said. "But increasingly, police have to contend with
drug-impaired driving: operating a vehicle while under the influence
of narcotics. Just like a drunk driver, a drug-impaired driver
presents a danger, to himself or herself and to others."

The legislation, to be introduced when the House of Commons returns
from its Remembrance Day break, will also "strengthen presumptions"
of breath and blood tests for drug-impaired drivers, although testing
for drug impairment in Canada is currently problematic.

"There are technological challenges in terms of testing for certain
kinds of drugs," Harper acknowledged. "(But) there are things we can
do, and will be doing and work will continue on the development of
technology as well."

Mothers Against Drunk Driving officials noted there are a number of
reliable drug tests now in use in the United States which could be
easily adopted in Canada under the proposed bill.