CRACKDOWN ON DRUGGED DRIVING

OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives have brought in legislation to
crack down on drug-impaired drivers - by resurrecting a plan first
advanced by the Liberals, adding heavier fines and jail terms, and
calling the result a Tory initiative.

The bill, tabled Tuesday by Justice Minister Vic Toews, would also
tighten laws against driving under the influence of alcohol, changing
the rules of evidence to make it harder to challenge breathalyser
tests in court.

The main focus, however, is on those who get behind the wheel while
high on marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine or a variety of other drugs.

"I can't seriously see people (being) opposed to this type of
legislation," said Toews, noting similar measures are already in force
in many American states.

Opposition MPs insisted they need time to study the bill. Some
predicted parts of it could be struck down by the courts as a
violation of the Charter of Rights.

The legislation had been trumpeted in advance by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper as another step in a broader Conservative law-and-order
agenda.

Toews admitted, when pressed by reporters, the core of his legislation
- - setting out the legal steps police must follow to prove drug
impairment - is taken straight from a bill proposed by the previous
Liberal government.

"In that respect, it's essentially the same," said the
minister.

He went on, however, to point to areas where the Tories had "enhanced"
the Liberal approach - mainly by boosting the penalties upon conviction.

Under the new bill, the minimum fine for a first offence of either
drug-or alcohol-impaired driving would be $1,000 rather than the
current $600.

A second offence would bring a mandatory 30 days in jail rather than
14, a third offence 120 days rather than 90.

In the worst cases, the maximum sentence would be life in prison for
impaired driving causing death and 10 years for causing bodily harm.

The Tory bill also creates a new offence of being in care and control
of a vehicle while in possession of an illicit dug - something like
driving with an open bottle of beer.

The penalty would be a mandatory six-month prohibition on driving, in
addition to jail time that could run up to five years.