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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: Canadian lawmaker calls for more driver alcohol checkstops but when pulled over refuses breathalyzer test Hours after publicly speaking against tougher drunk-driving (lower blood alcohol) laws, Edmonton East MP Peter Goldring was charged Sunday for refusing to take a breathalyzer test when a police officer pulled him over. Goldring, who didn't appear Monday in the House of Commons, voluntarily withdrew from the federal Conservative caucus. "Our government takes drinking and driving very seriously," said Sara MacIntyre, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's press secretary. She wouldn't comment further while the case is before court, except to say Goldring, 66, has withdrawn from caucus until the charge is resolved. Goldring did not return calls to The Journal to explain what happened early Sunday following a fundraiser at the Ukrainian Youth Unity Complex near 97th Street and 153rd Avenue. Edmonton police spokesman Chad Orydzuk said Goldring was charged with refusing to provide a breath sample using the roadside screening test. Police pulled over the car near 95th Street and 153rd Avenue about 12: 30 a.m. Sunday, three blocks from his annual constituency fundraising dinner. More than 100 people attended the Saturday night event, which featured a roast beef and perogy dinner, along with a silent auction and a cash bar. Edmonton-Castle Downs PC MLA Thomas Lukaszuk sat at the same table as Goldring and said the two had a public disagreement at the podium after Lukaszuk offered the keynote speech at the event and addressed tougher drinking and driving laws in Alberta. "Mr. Goldring felt that the legislation is intrusive and will some day be challenged by someone in a court of law," Lukaszuk said, "To which I responded, as I would to anyone, that it ensures impaired drivers will be taken from Alberta streets. This is a matter of much higher importance than some potential hypothetical challenge." The new legislation, proposed under Premier Alison Redford, will suspend the licences of motorists charged with having more than .08 blood alcohol content. Drivers who blow between .05 to .08 blood alcohol content will also face tougher sanctions. Lukaszuk said he has no idea how much Goldring drank at the event. "I was too busy working the room," Lukaszuk said. "I don't know the guy well enough to know what he looked like sober, let alone drunk." The patrol that pulled Goldring over was on the street in support of a broader Checkstop program, which wrapped up before individual police units spread out to do roving checks. "They're tasked with identifying and arresting suspected impaired drivers," Orydzuk said. He couldn't say if Goldring's vehicle was seized, which is only done when safety is a concern. Someone drove Goldring home, Orydzuk said, since the charge brings an immediate 24-hour licence suspension, followed by a 21-day grace period and then a three-month licence suspension. If convicted, Goldring faces a minimum $1,000 fine, up to five years in prison and potential restrictions on driving. University of Alberta law professor Steven Penney said the charges of refusing a breath demand and that of impaired driving are "of equal seriousness." Under the Criminal Code, both charges carry the same penalties, including a driving suspension and fine. Penney said refusal charges are actually easier for the Crown to prove than impaired charges and aren't often taken to trial. "We don't see them challenged very often, except when there is a Charter argument that the police did not have the proper grounds to demand a sample," he said. Goldring has been a member of Parliament since 1997. In 2009, Goldring opposed proposed legislation changes that would allow police to screen all drivers with roadside breathalyzer tests, whether or not officers suspected the drivers had been drinking. "It is safe to say everyone is opposed to drunk driving - but there are civil liberty issues involved," Goldring posted in an article on his website at the time. "There is the presumption of innocence and the right to not self-incriminate." Staff at his constituency office on 118th Avenue and 91st Street offered no comment Monday. Leila Moulder, president of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Edmonton chapter, said she was surprised to hear about the charge. "It comes as a huge disappointment, especially in light of the new legislation that's around and all the buzz in the media right now, just to have this as one more challenge that we're faced with," Moulder said. "It's unnerving, especially when somebody is in an elected position, a position of authority in the public eye. You need to have that greater responsibility and there was a lack of such responsibility in this issue." Edmonton-Strathcona NDP MP Linda Duncan said Goldring has set a poor example. "It's disturbing in a number of areas," Duncan said. "Of course, everyone in Alberta's aware of the government pushing for stricter standards for impaired driving. "So one would think elected officials would set a higher standard." She also said it was "pretty reprehensible" that Goldring, in 2009, wrote that he was concerned about the risk to civil liberties of a proposal by Mothers Against Drunk Driving to require drivers to provide breath samples even if there is no grounds for suspicion. checkstop numbers During the weekend's Checkstop campaign in Edmonton: - 1,125 vehicles drove through; - 487 vehicles and drivers were checked; - 18 impaired driving charges were laid; - 16 24-hour suspensions were given; - 29 summons were handed out for drivers to appear before a judge; - nine miscellaneous charges were laid, including MP Peter Goldring's charge of refusing a breathalyzer test. one too many? Other Canadian politicians who have run afoul of impaired driving laws: - In September 2009, roughly a year after losing his Edmonton-Strathcona seat, Rahim Jaffer was pulled over by police northwest of Toronto while speeding. He was initially charged with cocaine possession and impaired driving. In court, he pleaded guilty to careless driving and was fined $500. - Former British Columbia premier Gordon Campbell spent a night in jail after Hawaii police pulled him off the road in January 2003. Campbell was convicted of driving under the influence, fined more than $900 and banned from driving in Hawaii for a year. - New Brunswick MP Bernard Valcourt crashed his motorcycle into a fence during a police chase in July 1989, and lost his eye as a result of the drunk-driving collision. - Bloc Québécois MP Rejean Lefebvre was charged with impaired driving three times during his two terms in office (1993-2000). - Former Quebec premier René Lévesque was never charged, but it was said he had been drinking him-self in 1977 when he hit and killed an intoxicated pedestrian. jsinnema@edmontonjournal.com http://twitter.com/jodiesinnema Tatarewicz: The main thrust against drunk driving needs to be a clear note on the bottle or along with a glass from a bar that "x" amount of this alcohol will cause impairment equivalent to .05 for "x" amount of time, now that this level of "impairment" results in vehicle impoundment.. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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