The elements of Bill C-46 related to drug-impaired driving came into force on June 21, 2018.

The legislation authorizes police to use additional tools, such as roadside oral fluid drug screeners, enacts new driving offences of being over a prohibited blood-drug concentration, and allows for blood samples to be collected without first requiring a driver to undergo a drug recognition evaluation.

Concerning mandatory alcohol screening, currently police officers must have reasonable suspicion that a driver has alcohol in their body before conducting a roadside test. As of Dec. 18, officers with an Approved Screening Device (ASD) on hand can require any lawfully-stopped driver to provide a breath sample, even without reasonable suspicion that the driver has alcohol in their body.

A driver who refuses to provide a sample would be subject to a criminal charge with a mandatory minimum $2,000 fine upon conviction for a first offence.

A second conviction for the same offences results in a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 30 days. Third and subsequent offences result in a mandatory minimum jail sentence of 120 days.

The maximum penalties for impaired driving not causing bodily harm are jail time of two years less a day up to 10 years.

The maximum penalties for impaired driving causing bodily harm is two years less a day up to 14 years in jail.

If you are convicted of killing someone while driving impaired the maximum penalty is life in prison.

For the new realm of drug-impaired driving, if you have 2-5 nanograms of THC (the main psychoactive compound in marijuana) in your system the penalty upon summary conviction is a maximum fine of $1,000.

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