DRUNK DRIVING CHANGES PRAISED

But some say proposals don't go far enough

Carolyn Swinson has two good reasons to care about proposed tougher
penalties for drunk drivers that would include life imprisonment for those
who cause death.

She lost a father and son to impaired drivers in two separate accidents. Her
father was killed in England in 1981; her adult son in Scarborough in 1993.

The 50-year-old Toronto woman is president of the Toronto chapter of Mothers
Against Drunk Driving and she welcomes proposed federal changes. But for
her, they don't go far enough.

``The tougher penalties are absolutely great but it's too bad police weren't
given a stronger hand to deal with drunk driving offences,'' she said
yesterday.

Unless judges start handing out tougher sentences under the legislation,
they aren't much use, Swinson said.

The changes recommended by a Commons committee could jail impaired drivers
for life if they kill, up from the current maximum penalty of 14 years.

Andy Murie, executive director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Canada,
said judges never impose the current maximum. The most a drunk driver has
received in Canada is 8 1/2 years, he said. ``It's a joke.''

Other expected changes include higher fines for first offenders, raising the
minimum fine to $600 from $300, longer licence suspensions, and the use of
dashboard-mounted breath alcohol detectors that block a car from starting if
a driver on probation is not alcohol-free.

The changes would also make it easier for police to take a blood sample from
a suspected drunk driver.

Justice Minister Anne McLellan said she will introduce the legislation
almost immediately, based on the recommendations. Sources have said she will
include the life sentence provision for killer drivers.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving likes several aspects of the proposed
legislation, including dashboard-mounted detectors and provisions allowing
judges to recommend assessment and treatment for offenders.

The group also likes the fact that police would have three hours at car
accident scenes to gather evidence of drunk driving, up from two. Murie also
welcomes the fact that judges would now have to consider a blood alcohol
level, if it is two or more times the legal limit, to be an aggravating
factor when sentencing.

Herb Simpson, president of the Traffic Injury Research Foundation, welcomed
the proposed legislation as a powerful message that the problem is being
taken seriously. ``That is a strong political and public statement.''

And he welcomed the fact that the legislation - by emphasizing treatment and
dashboard detectors - would recognize that the majority of drunk driving
offenders are repeat offenders.

But the proposals are relatively silent in helping police identify and
apprehend drunk drivers, Simpson said.

Herb Collins, executive vice-president of the Brewers Association of Canada,
praised the proposed changes, particularly the dashboard detector and the
fact that judges must take blood alcohol levels into account when
sentencing.

It is unclear how quickly the legislation will become law. The government
wants to fast-track it through the House and Senate before Parliament
adjourns for the summer in a few weeks.

But government House leader Don Boudria said yesterday the unanimous
agreement required to move that quickly does not yet exist and, without it,
approval is ``virtually impossible this spring.''

``There are just too many other things on the agenda,'' he said.

The snag is the Bloc Quebecois, which opposes raising the maximum penalty
for impaired driving causing death.