Two important laws deal with driving under the influence of alcohol: the Criminal Code (a federal law that applies all over Canada) and the Highway Safety Code (a provincial law that applies only in Quebec).

The Criminal Code defines the offences of impaired driving and of driving with more than 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood. It also provides a sentence depending on the offence committed, the seriousness of the offence, and the number of times a person has committed the offence in the past (possible sentences can include fines, imprisonment, a period of time in which the person is forbidden from driving). This applies to all motor vehicles, even those not on public roads.

The Highway Safety Code determines the conditions that a person must meet to drive on Quebec roads. It deals with the administrative consequences of a conviction and outlines certain police powers in this area.

The Criminal Code includes two offences that deal with driving after drinking and/or taking drugs.

First, there is the offence of driving a vehicle while a person has

over 80 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of blood

. A driver is guilty of this offence as soon as her blood-alcohol level is over this limit. The effect of alcohol on her ability to drive isn't relevant for this offence. To learn more, consult our Infosheet Drinking and driving.

Second, there is the offence of driving while

impaired by alcohol, a drug, or a combination of the two

– this Infosheet deals with this second offence. For this offence, whether or not the driver has consumed a lot of alcohol or drugs is not relevant. Instead, what's relevant is whether or not the person’s ability to drive has been decreased by her consumption of drugs, alcohol or both. If so, she is guilty.

These offences are distinct, but both can apply to the use of a car, a boat, a train, a motorcycle, or an airplane. In practice, a person is often accused of both offences at once. When that happens, the judge can only convict the person for one of the two offences.

For new drivers, the Highway Safety Code creates extra requirements in terms of drinking and driving. To learn more, consult our infosheet New drivers and alcohol.

Impaired driving requires evidence that a person drove a motor vehicle while her ability to drive was decreased. The impairment of the ability to drive must come from the effect of alcohol, a drug, or both at the same time. Even fatigue combined with alcohol or a drug can be enough to reduce one’s ability to drive. The level of alcohol in the blood of the driver is not the essential factor in this offence; what matters is the person’s ability to drive. So, a person could have only 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and not be able to drive.

The police will gather any evidence that can help show that the driver drove the vehicle while her ability to drive was impaired by alcohol and/or drugs. Acts like driving erratically without staying on the road, braking suddenly or for no reason, going too fast or too slow, are all typical signs that a driver cannot control her vehicle. Other symptoms, like the smell of alcohol on one’s breath, loss of balance when walking, glassy or bloodshot eyes, slurred, slow or incoherent speech and failure of the coordination tests, can also lead to the conclusion that a driver is impaired.

The Criminal Code does not distinguish between a vehicle in motion and a vehicle at rest. It is an offence simply to have the care or control of a motor vehicle when your ability to drive is impaired or your blood-alcohol level is over the limit.

Does the impaired person have the keys? Could she get them easily? Is she in the vehicle? Is she operating the radio, headlights, heating or air conditioning? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, a judge could conclude that she had the care or control of the vehicle and therefore has committed an offence, even if the person just wanted to sleep in her car.

The law specifically provides that simply occupying the seat normally reserved for the driver is evidence of care or control, unless the accused succeeds in proving to the court that she didn’t intend to start the vehicle.

For example, just outside a bar, Alan, who is drunk, sits behind the wheel of his car to wait for Roger, who is going to drive him home. Even if he had no intention of driving, the police can arrest him. Alan will have to prove that he didn't intend to start the vehicle.

To deal with impaired drivers, the police can intercept vehicles randomly on the road, or patrol and observe how people on the road are driving.

Also, they can put up roadblocks, but only if the operation is publicly advertised. The roadblock allows them to keep drivers from passing by without stopping. The drivers are obliged to stop when a uniformed police officer asks them to.

Once the vehicle is stopped, the police briefly question the driver about her alcohol consumption. If they believe that the driver has had something to drink, the police can ask her to get out of the vehicle, observe her behavior, have her pass physical coordination tests or even have her undergo a screening test using an approved screening device. If the police think that her driving was impaired by drugs, they will only submit her to physical coordination tests. The police have the right to film all of these tests.

The police officer can order you to do physical coordination tests or to breathe into the screening device. Your refusal to comply will be considered a criminal offence.

To do their job, the police can question you, but you have no legal obligation to answer. Of course, you must hand over your licence and registration, as well as proof of insurance to the police officer who asks for them.

The police can order you to accompany them to the police station to pass a breathalyzer test if, as a result of their investigation, they have reason to believe that you committed the offence of impaired driving due solely to alcohol consumption or driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit. For more information, see our infosheet Drinking and Driving.

If the police have reason to believe that you are impaired by drugs, or by a combination of drugs and alcohol, they can order you to follow them to pass more advanced tests conducted by an “evaluating officer”. This expert will conduct physical tests. For example, he can measure your pulse, take your temperature, examine the size of your pupils or ask you to follow a moving object with your eyes. The evaluation made by this evaluating officer can be filmed. Depending on the result of his evaluation, the evaluating officer can order you to provide him with a sample of your saliva, urine, or blood. He can also order you to submit to a breathalyzer test, if it has not already been done.

The Highway Safety Code provides for the on-the-spot suspension of your driver's licence for 90 days under the following circumstances:

• When the breathalyzer test of a driver indicates over 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood;
  
• When a person refuses to provide a breath sample, to do the physical coordination tests or to follow the police officer to the police station to undergo a breathalyzer test or advanced tests conducted by an evaluating officer;
  
• When a driver covered by the “zero alcohol” policy has not respected this rule.

Also, the police officer has to seize your vehicle and impound it at its owner’s expense for 30 days if:

• You refuse to do the physical coordination tests, give a breath sample or follow the police officer to the police station to undergo a breathalyzer test or advanced tests conducted by an evaluating officer;
  
• Your breathalyzer test reveals that you have more than 160 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, i.e. more than twice the legal limit;
  
• You drive without being the holder of a valid licence because, for example, your licence was cancelled due to a conviction for impaired driving.

You have the right to remain silent. The police officers will surely want to know how much you have consumed, where, when, with whom: no law obliges you to answer these questions, especially since your answers can be used against you in court.

At the police station, the police officers must allow and help you to contact the lawyer of your choice, even if this requires a long-distance call. To do this, they must give you access to a telephone book and a private room with a telephone in it. You have the right to speak with your lawyer in private. The police are obliged to inform you about access to Legal Aid and about the existence of duty counsel services, where legal advice is given by telephone for free, 24 hours per day.

If you leave the police station with a notice to appear in court, write down your version of the facts as early as possible, with all the details, especially about your drug and alcohol consumption. Contact your lawyer.

The Criminal Code includes the same sentences for all of the following offences:

• Driving a motor vehicle while impaired;
  
• Driving with a blood-alcohol level that is over the legal limit;
  
• Refusal to provide a blood or breath sample.

If you are convicted, the circumstances surrounding your driving, your interception or your refusal, your previous convictions and, if relevant, the blood-alcohol level you registered, will be taken into account by the judge when determining your sentence.

The minimum sentences provided by the Criminal Code are the following:

• First offence: minimum fine of $1000 and an order forbidding you from driving for 1 to 3 years, as well as any prison time to which you may be sentenced.
  
• Second offence: minimum imprisonment of 30 days and an order forbidding you from driving for 2 to 5 years.
  
• For each offence after that: minimum imprisonment of 120 days and an order forbidding you from driving for at least 3 years.

The maximum prison sentence for all of these offences is 5 years.

For the offence of refusing to provide a breath or blood sample, the prohibition on driving will only be imposed if it is proven that you actually drove or had the care or control of the vehicle in the 3 hours before your refusal.

Your driver's licence is confiscated by the judge as soon as you are convicted. Furthermore, the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) is informed of your conviction, cancels your licence, and suspends your right to obtain a new licence. For a first conviction, the suspension lasts for one year. If you are convicted in the following 10 years, the suspension lasts 3 years. For subsequent convictions within 10 years of the last conviction, the suspension is for 5 years. In all cases, your right to obtain a new driver’s licence is suspended for at least as long as the judge’s order to that effect. For more information, consult our Infosheet Reapplying for a driver's licence.

No. The sentences are heavier if it is proven that the impaired driving caused the injury or death of another person.

If you hurt someone, the law provides a maximum prison sentence of 10 years coupled with an order forbidding you from driving for a maximum of 10 years.

If you kill someone, you face possible life imprisonment. There is no maximum prohibition on driving provided, leaving the judge with the ability to impose the prohibition on driving that is most appropriate considering all of the circumstances of your case.

Once all of the waiting periods have passed (order forbidding you from driving and suspension of the right to obtain a licence), the rules for getting a new driver's licence will differ depending on whether it is a first offence or a repeat offence and on whether or not you have an addiction to alcohol.

See our Infosheet Reapplying for a driver's licence for details.