DRIVERS ON DRUGS TARGETED

Proposed Bill Would Boost Police Powers

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 Friday.

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.

MADD Canada chief executive officer Andy Murie said just announcing
the proposed legislation will have a chilling effect on people who
might be planning to use drugs and drive.

"It has a great deterrence effect just making this public," he said.
"As people start getting arrested and charged and convicted under
this law it will make more and more people think twice before driving
drug-impaired."

He said drug-impaired drivers are a serious problem on Canadian
roads, citing a study in Quebec that suggested as many of 20 per cent
of impaired drivers had been stopped while under the influence of
some kind of illicit drug.

"There could be hundreds of thousands of drivers out there who are
impaired by drug use," said Murie.

Harper made the announcement flanked by Senator Marjory LeBreton, a
longtime supporter of MADD and whose daughter and grandson were
killed by a drunk driver 10 years ago. She called the announcement
"gratifying."

"It's an emotional day, but it's a very rewarding day as well ...
that there's actually now a meaningful effort not only on driving
while drunk but also on driving while impaired by drugs."

Harper called on opposition parties to speed passage of the
legislation, which he said would make Canadian roads safer.

"What's contentious about this? ... I don't think this is contentious
legislation. This is only contentious legislation if you don't really
want to pass it in the first place and that's the problem with the opposition."

Liberal associate justice critic Brian Murphy said his party will
support the bill, meaning it would receive a majority in the House of Commons.

"We hope that the prime minister and the minister of justice will
develop some programming, some dollars to give the police forces the
tools necessary to detect people under the influence of drugs," he said.

"But we look forward to receiving the bill and we're in favour of it.."

The former Liberal government introduced a bill on drug-impaired
driving in 2004, just before the federal election, but it was never passed.