The Criminal Code of Canada sets out the federal impaired driving offences and penalties, as well as enforcement authority and procedures.

Since 1998, MADD Canada has conducted regular reviews of federal impaired driving laws and made recommendations for legislative and policy measures to further reduce impaired driving and assist victims and survivors. When considering such measures, MADD Canada selects those that are compatible with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, are likely to have wide public support, and have the greatest potential to reduce impaired driving.

In 2018, the federal government enacted sweeping legislation, repealing, amending, and re-enacting with significant amendments all the Criminal Code impaired driving and other transportation offences. Among other things, the legislation rationalized the impaired driving sanctions, created new per se drug-impaired driving offences, strengthened drug-impaired driving enforcement, and addressed many evidentiary, procedural and technical concerns. In terms of traffic safety, the most important measure was the mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) provision, which authorized the police to demand a roadside breath test from any driver whom they had lawfully stopped. Unfortunately, despite some progress, many police services have yet to fully implement MAS. Consequently, Canada has failed to realize the major reductions in alcohol-related impaired driving that MAS has achieved in many other countries.

MADD Canada’s latest recommendations are detailed in The Top Ten Report 2.0 – Federal Measures to Minimize Impaired Driving and Support Victims and Survivors. The measures, briefly summarized here, reflect MADD Canada’s comprehensive approach, and recognize that a combination of countermeasures is required to deter impaired driving, reduce repeat offences and support victims and survivors.

Download the report (PDF)

Key Recommendations

Alcohol-Impaired Driving

  • Enact legislation requiring that all new vehicles be equipped with anti-impaired driving technology. 
  • Enact a federal summary conviction .05% blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) offence. 
  • Enact a mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) provision that is applicable to any driver or person suspected of being a driver in a crash and expand the MAS provisions to include vessels. 
  • Authorize the police to require the taking of a blood sample from any driver or person suspected of being a driver in a crash, if that individual is unable to take an ASD test or is unable to respond to a demand for a breath or blood sample.

Drug-Impaired Driving

  • Authorize the police to require the taking of a blood sample from any driver or person suspected of being a driver in a crash, if that individual is unable to take an oral fluid test or is unable to respond to a demand for an oral fluid test, drug recognition evaluation or blood test. 
  • Work in conjunction with the provinces and territories to develop mandatory remedial education, assessment, treatment, and relicensing programs for all federal drug-impaired driving offenders. 

Victims and Survivor Rights

  • The Criminal Code should be amended to require Crown prosecutors to take reasonable steps to inform victims and survivors of impaired drivers of any joint plea or sentencing submission before accepting it. 
  • The Criminal Code should be amended to require judges to acknowledge in their sentencing remarks any victim impact statement that has been made. 

Additional Measures

  • Establish a system for the timely, accurate and comprehensive collection and publishing of total, and alcohol and drug-related transportation deaths and injuries in Canada.
  • Establish a system for the timely, accurate and comprehensive collection and publishing of the disposition data (including sentencing) in all federal alcohol and drug-related impaired driving cases.