PM TO UNWRAP DRUG-DRIVING BILL TODAY

Drivers who get behind the wheel while stoned on drugs will be
targeted in new legislation to be announced today by Prime Minister
Stephen Harper, sources have told The Globe and Mail.

Mr. Harper will unveil the legal changes in Kitchener, Ont., where he
will be accompanied by Senator Marjorie LeBreton, whose daughter Linda
LeBreton-Holmes and her 12-year-old son Brian were killed more than 10
years ago by a drunk driver.

Mr. Harper will announce that the Criminal Code will be amended to
allow police to apprehend and test drug-impaired drivers, something
that previous Liberal governments had tried unsuccessfully to enact,
government sources said.

That is the very least that the Conservative government plans to do,
said Andrew Murie, the chief executive officer of Mothers Against
Drunk Driving Canada.

Mr. Murie will be at the announcement today and will have a brief
private meeting with Mr. Harper.

Police officers have been asking for this type of power for many years
but scientific tests have not been available for roadside use to
accurately determine what substances a drugged driver has smoked,
ingested or injected.

Mr. Murie said the introduction in the United States of what is known
as a drug recognition evaluation has eliminated that roadblock in
recent years.

"It is a series of tests that look for families of drugs," he said. As
the driver performs the tests, a skilled officer will usually be able
to tell what kind of drug is causing the impairment. Then a bodily
fluid is demanded to confirm the result.

When the evaluation, plus the officer's assessment and the analysis of
the blood or saliva sample, is presented to a court, Mr. Murie said,
"it's been proven successful to get a conviction."

But he said he hopes Mr. Harper takes the initiative to be announced
today several steps further.

There is speculation that the government will add at least one, and
possibly three, new enhancements to existing drunk-driving
legislation, he said.

"If it comes through," he said, "it will be the most comprehensive
breakthrough [against drunk drivers] in 10 years."

First, Mr. Murie said, there is talk the government will remove the
possibility for someone who is found to have a blood-alcohol reading
of more than .08 per cent -- the legal limit for driving -- to
introduce evidence that he or she could not have been as impaired as a
breath analysis machine suggested.

People who blow over the limit but bring six friends to court to say
they had just one or two beers can plant seeds of doubt in a judge's
mind. Those cases are dropped 60 to 70 per cent of the time, Mr. Murie
said. MADD hopes "they are going to close that loophole," he said.

Second, he said, police may be given the right to demand that any
driver who is involved in a crash be tested to determine if they had
consumed more than the allowable level of alcohol.

And third, a private member's bill currently before the House that
would create a separate offence for someone whose blood alcohol limit
is below .08 but above .05 per cent may be added to the legislation.
It was introduced by a Conservative from British Columbia and Mr.
Harper could turn that into a government-backed proposal, Mr. Murie
said.

He will be anxiously awaiting the full announcement, he said. If all
of the suggested initiatives are introduced by the government, Mr.
Murie said, "I will be on cloud nine."