Quebec police say cutting blood-alcohol limit to .05 would save up to 14 lives a year

By Patrice Bergeron, The Canadian Press on December 5, 2024.

Quebec provincial police estimate that reducing the legal blood-alcohol limit to .05 would save between 10 and 14 lives every year on the province’s roadways.

Those figures are contained in heavily redacted documents obtained by The Canadian Press through an access to information request.

The Coalition Avenir Québec government has steadfastly refused to lower the limit to .05 from .08 — which represents 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood — despite previous calls from the province’s automobile insurance board and a Quebec coroner.

All other provinces have established a legal limit of .05 or lower — above which drivers could have their licences revoked or face other sanctions.

Speaking to reporters in Quebec City, Public Security Minister François Bonnardel says the unredacted documents would not be released and the province has no plans to lower the limit, which aligns with what is in the federal Criminal Code.

The documents use figures from Alberta and British Columbia to project that Quebec could expect up to 14 fewer fatalities with the lowered limit, of which up to six would be in regions patrolled by the provincial police.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

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