Saskatoon police say they issued five licence suspensions during the first week of their new mandatory alcohol screening measure introduced at the beginning of the new year.
Under the new measure officially put in place on Jan. 1, officers are allowed to demand a driver provide a breath sample while conducting a traffic stop without requiring prior suspicion of impairment.
From Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) said in a statement to Global News that officers administered 240 tests under the new measure.
While the measure is new to Saskatoon, other police jurisdictions in Saskatchewan have already implemented it. Regina police made the change in March 2024 while the province’s RCMP also did so a month later in April.
Other police services across the country have also made changes to allow for officers to demand a breathalyzer without cause as the authority for mandatory screening has existed since 2018 after changes to Canada’s Criminal Code for impaired driving.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Madd Saskatoon president Bonny Stevenson about the new measure.
“Suffering that devastating loss of losing your 17-year-old son is just something, it affects your whole life,” she said. “The more things we can do to deter, whether it’s fines, not being able to buy alcohol, whatever it might be, I think is a really good thing.”
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But Stevenson says in the weeks leading up to SPS implementing mandatory screening, misconceptions about the measure have been spreading online.
“You’re seeing outrage in that people think they can get pulled over with having mouthwash on their breath and get a DUI. That’s just not the case,” said Stevenson.
In a statement to Global News, SPS says it is possible for mouthwash to “temporarily affect a roadside breath test if it contains ethyl alcohol or alcohol sugars,” adding that there are safeguards in place to “reduce the risk of an inaccurate result.”
“If an officer has reason to believe alcohol (i.e. mouthwash) was recently used, they will wait 15 minutes before taking a breath sample,” the statement reads, adding that approved screening devices are designed to detect alcohols which may be found in mouthwash and that officers are trained to “ask the right questions” so someone is not wrongly charged or s
Saskatchewan RCMP say mandatory screening has led the force to test over 45,000 drivers for alcohol impairment, leading to the removal of 1,660 drivers from roads who either received a positive result on a screening device or displayed symptoms of recent drug consumption.
“It helps us to stop drivers who are impaired but do not look impaired. And it helps us convince the driving population to change their behaviour regarding drinking and driving,” said Sask. RCMP Supt. Grant St. Germaine.
“Most people now know we are going to ask for a test on a roadside stop, so they are not risking it anymore, they don’t drink and drive. This is what we want.”
But for Stevenson, more can be done in the province to address impaired driving.
“Some of the other provinces are doing much longer suspensions of your licence, higher fines, longer periods where you have to have a blow box in your vehicle. I think all of those things are start,” Stevenson said.
Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) has around 2,400 people enrolled in its ignition interlock program, which allows those convicted of impaired driving offences return to the road under the stipulation they provide a breath sample before and during the operation of their vehicle.
“The Government of Saskatchewan and SGI continue to work with law enforcement, partners, families of impaired driving victims, and drivers on strategies to reduce the number of people killed or injured due to impaired driving crashes,” an SGI spokesperson told Global News in statement.
SPS says it has wrapped up its December impaired driving enforcement initiative, which saw almost 900 vehicles checked and led to the issuing of 14 tickets and three suspensions.
Over in Regina, police laid 57 charges related to impaired driving during the month of December.
Regina Police Service also said the force conducted a check stop on Dec. 31, where over 300 people were screened and one person was charged while another received a 72-hour suspension.
Stevenson said she will continue to watch for results of Saskatoon’s latest impaired driving numbers under the mandatory alcohol screening program, while continuing to champion one specific message.
“Make smart choices, always plan a safe ride home.”
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