Impaired Driving (New Brunswick)

The MVA governs the rights and responsibilities of drivers, and the legislation includes laws to deal with impaired driving. You can also be charged under Canada’s Criminal Code. You face criminal charges if you drive with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) equal to or above 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (.08). It’s not just alcohol that can impair your ability to drive. Over-the-counter drugs and prescription medications can impact your ability to drive.

The federal government also amended the Criminal Code in 2018 to deal with the legalization of cannabis. The Code makes it an offence to have between two and five nanograms of THC (the primary psychoactive component of cannabis) per ml of blood when operating a vehicle.
It is a more serious offence to have five ng or more of THC per ml of blood. The combined prohibited levels of alcohol and cannabis is 50 mg or more of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and 2.5 ng or more of THC per ml of blood.

Police no longer need proof to demand a breath test if you have been pulled over at a roadside stop. The federal government introduced mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) in 2018, allowing police to demand that drivers submit to a breath test even if there is no reasonable suspicion that alcohol has been consumed.

Failure or refusing to comply with a demand by the police, including refusing to submit to a breath test, comes with consequences. A conviction can result in penalties under s. 320.15 (1) of the Criminal Code, which is the same as blowing over .08, can result in a minimum $2,000 fine, imprisonment and a licence suspension.

Your vehicle can be immediately impounded, and you must pay the towing and storage charges if caught driving impaired. The impoundment program applies to short-term licence suspensions and Criminal Code alcohol-impaired driving cases.

If you have a BAC between .05 and .08 your vehicle will be impounded for:

• three days for a first offence within five years (discretionary);
• seven days for a second offence within five years (discretionary);
• seven days for a third and subsequent offence within five years (mandatory).

If you are caught with a BAC over 0.08, your vehicle will be impounded for:

• 30 days for a first suspension or for failing or refusing to provide a breath sample within 10 years (mandatory);
• 60 days after a previous suspension or for failing or refusing to give a breath sample within 10 years (mandatory);

Under the Criminal Code, a first conviction for driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more will result in a minimum $1,000 fine and a minimum one-year licence suspension. Court also has the discretion to impose a jail sentence depending on the circumstances of your case. If it is your second offence, you can expect a fine, licence suspension, and a minimum 30-day jail sentence. The penalty for a third or subsequent conviction includes a minimum 120-day jail term.

You can be imprisoned for up to 10 years if you are convicted of impaired driving causing bodily harm. If you are found guilty of impaired driving causing death, you could be imprisoned for life.