Committee Recommends Hill’s Plan to Combat Drunk Drivers

March 9, 1999

OTTAWA — Today the Standing Committee on Justice released its report and recommendation on toughening up Canada’s drunk driving laws. Among the recommendations is a call for the use of alcohol-sensing ignition control systems, like the Guardian Interlock, for those with a history of alcohol related driving convictions.

"Back in 1997, I introduced a private members bill (Bill C-266) calling for alcohol-sensing ignition control systems for repeat offenders of drunk driving, but the Liberals weren’t interested then. Now it seems that the Committee is willing to consider it as one potential tool to be used in the fight against impaired driving," said Hill.

The Interlock System measures the blood alcohol content of a driver by breathing into an electronic mechanism. If the driver is over the legal limit, the car will not start. The Guardian Interlock System is operating for repeat drunk driving offenders in the provinces of Quebec and Alberta, and in the States of Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, New York, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. While Hill recognizes that the implementation of these programs is under provincial jurisdiction, an amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada would create a national umbrella-solution for dealing with this problem.

"Some people never learn right from wrong. These mechanisms insure that if someone chooses to drink and get behind the wheel, their vehicle will remain stationary. Far too many innocent lives have been lost to drunk drivers on Canada’s roads, it’s past time for all politicians to set their partisan differences aside. I sincerely hope the Interlock amendment appears as one of the recommendations of the Committee Report," Hill concluded.