NATIONAL OFFICE 2010 Winston Park Drive, Suite 500, Oakville, Ontario, Canada L6H 5R7 Tel: (905) 829-8805 Toll Free: 1-800-665-MADD Fax: (905) 829-8860 Web: madd.ca Email: [email protected] June 8, 2021 The Honourable David Lametti Minister of Justice and Attorney General House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 Dear Minister: As you know, MADD Canada’s mission is to stop impaired driving and to support victims of this violent crime. MADD Canada is the only anti-impaired driving organization in the country to provide services to victims and survivors of impaired driving and in too many cases, we are the only supports they are offered. After years of effort by MADD Canada, victims of impaired driving and others, the federal government enacted Bill C-9 in 2007, which narrowed the categories of offences for which conditional sentences could be imposed. The end result was that conditional sentences of imprisonment could no longer be imposed for impaired driving causing bodily harm or death and their respective refusal offences. The enactment of Bill C-22 in its current form would see these efforts undone. We have reviewed the recent decisions by the Courts of Appeal in Ontario and British Columbia regarding the constitutionality of limits of conditional sentences and understand the issue will ultimately be decided by the Supreme Court of Canada. Despite those rulings, your government has determined that some restrictions on conditional sentences are constitutional and that certain offences should remain ineligible for conditional sentences. We believe impaired driving causing death should be added to the proposed list of ineligible offences. In recent years, courts across Canada have recognized the need for stricter sentences for impaired driving causing death, emphasizing the importance of deterrence and denunciation as sentencing objectives. MADD Canada is concerned that allowing conditional sentences for impaired driving undermines that message. Impaired driving causing death was excluded in the recent hybridization of many criminal offences. It was deemed sufficiently egregious to remain a purely indictable offence and have a maximum sentence of life. MADD Canada worked hard to eliminate conditional sentences for impaired driving causing death because of the impact these sentences have on the families we supported. They were outraged and re-victimized by the imposition of house arrest for someone who took the life of their loved one(s). Losing someone in an impaired crash is extremely difficult to deal with because it is something that is totally preventable and Charitable Registration No. 13907 2060 RR0001 because these deaths are not seen as serious as other criminal deaths. “Societal messages that minimize the death by calling it an accident may minimize the significance of the event in the survivor’s mind.”1 People we support suffer from PTSD, depression and anxiety. Many feel that sentences for impaired driving related deaths do not reflect the harm that has been caused, but for families, the intent/motivation of the offender is not significant to the impact of the crime. “The death of a loved one to road trauma is often discounted because no-one involved intended for it to happen. However, the aftermath for family members is very similar to that following a murder.”2 I look forward to hearing from you to set up a mutually convenient time to discuss these important issues. Please contact Eric Dumschat, Legal Director at [email protected] or 905-330-4632 to schedule a meeting. Sincerely, Andrew Murie Chief Executive Officer MADD Canada CC: Hon. Rob Moore, Conservative Party of Canada, Justice Critic Randall Garrison, New Democratic Party, Justice Critic Yves-François Blanchet, Leader of Bloc Québécois Annamie Paul, Leader of the Green Party of Canada 1 Sprang, Ginny. “PTSD in Surviving Family Members of Drunk Driving Episodes,” in Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Human Services, 1997. p. 633 2 Janice Harris Lord, “Real MADD: How to Help Road Trauma Survivors,” Grief Matters Autumn 2010, p.4. .