Alcohol and cannabis consumption jumped 25 per cent in 2020 across the country. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

under the influence

MADD CEO calls La Ronge impaired driving increase ‘alarming’

Apr 20, 2021 | 5:00 PM

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) CEO Andrew Murie was shocked to learn the number of impaired driving charges laid by La Ronge RCMP went from 86 in 2019 to 146 in 2020.

“They are alarming, especially in Saskatchewan where over the last number of years, we’ve seen a significant decrease in the number of impaired driving deaths and injuries,” he said. “We are seeing a lot of these type of increases and a lot of it is due to the pandemic and people increasing their consumption of alcohol and cannabis.”

Murie explained that in the last 12 months, Canadian public health agencies have reported a 25 per cent rise in alcohol and cannabis consumption. He noted it isn’t normal to see those kind of dramatic increases year-over-year and said the pandemic is causing people to partake in dangerous activities such as impaired driving.

For instance, he said there has been a 900 per cent increase in stunt driving—motorists travelling more than 50 kilometres per hour over the speed limit—across Canada.

“Police are exacerbated with the behaviours they’ve seen on the roadway and, as this pandemic starts to come to an end, we need to get our heads on straight and go back to where we were pre-pandemic,” Murie said. “The difference with this pandemic is all of us are in that higher stress area. We’re all forced to deal with it.”

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Murie urges residents to call 911 if they suspect a motorist of being impaired, adding by not doing so, you could be putting a loved one or friend at risk.

La Ronge RCMP Staff Sgt. Dean Bridle said although there is no empirical data to support that the pandemic played a role in the increase, it can be speculated that people having more time on their hands may have chosen to socialize and consume alcohol throughout some of 2020 up until greater restrictions on gatherings were introduced.

“The Province of Saskatchewan and the RCMP are committed to improving road safety in our communities, which is why there are programs such as RID to help detect impaired drivers,” Bridle said. “According to statistics provided by MADD, there are, on average, up to four Canadians killed with many more injured in alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes every day.”

Bridle also explained impaired driving enforcement was identified as a priority in the RCMP’s 2020 annual performance plan. In 2020, he said resources at the detachment stabilized enough to provide greater coverage. That allowed officers to focus on proactive enforcement instead of being reactive.

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno