Manitoba continues to have among the toughest penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Canada. Impaired driving is a serious threat to public safety with significant sanctions and consequences.

Drug impairment

Drivers suspected by police of being under the influence of any drug can receive an immediate 24-hour roadside license suspension.

Drug and alcohol restriction

Novice drivers cannot have drugs or alcohol in their system. Anyone who violates this restriction will:

• receive an immediate 24-hour roadside suspension
• be subject to an additional suspension from our Driver Improvement and Control Program
• be required to pay a driver’s licence reinstatement charge

Novice drivers who receive a 24-hour suspension for being under the influence of a drug may also be subject to an additional suspension from our Driver Improvement and Control Program and are required to pay a reinstatement charge.

Tiered Administrative Licence Suspension

Immediate Roadside Prohibition

The Highway Traffic Act has been amended to adopt an immediate roadside prohibitions approach to deal with persons driving under the influence of alcohol. This new approach and tough new sanctions take effect right at roadside, based upon the results of an approved screening device (ASD).

Anyone who operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration between .05 and .079, registers a "warn" on an ASD, or fails a drug screening test, physical coordination test or drug recognition evaluation is subject to an immediate Tiered Administrative Licence Suspension.

Tiered Administrative Licence Suspensions are progressively longer suspensions ranging from 72 hours to 60 days depending on how many previous suspensions have been issued to the driver within a 10-year period:

• 72-hour driver’s licence suspension for a first occurrence
• seven-day driver’s licence suspension for a first occurrence with a person under the age of 16 in the vehicle
• 15-day driver’s licence suspension for a second occurrence
• 30-day driver’s licence suspension for a third occurrence
• 60-day driver’s licence suspension for a fourth and subsequent occurrences

Drivers who receive a Tiered Administrative Licence Suspension move five levels down the Driver Safety Rating scale. Drivers who receive this suspension may also be subject to a Driver Improvement and Control intervention. This could range from a warning letter to a further driver’s licence suspension. They would also be required to pay a driver’s licence reinstatement charge.

Drivers receiving two or more suspensions within a 10-year period are also required to complete an Impaired Driver Assessment at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba at their own expense.

If you fail or refuse an ASD, you may face enhanced roadside sanctions, including an administrative penalty, vehicle impoundment, mandatory Ignition Interlock participation for one year, and movement of 10 levels down the Driver Safety Rating scale.

Three-month Administrative Licence Suspension

You will receive an immediate three-month Administrative Licence Suspension if:

• your blood alcohol concentration is equal to or over .08
• your blood drug concentration is over 5 nanograms (ng) of THC
• you register a fail on an ASD
• your combined blood alcohol concentration is over .05 and blood drug concentration is over 2.5 ng of THC
• you refuse to provide a breath, saliva or blood sample to police
• you refuse to perform a physical coordination test or drug recognition evaluation, or refuse to follow a police officer’s instructions regarding either test
• you have any concentration of illegal drugs in your system

Drivers who receive this suspension move five levels down the Driver Safety Rating scale and are required to pay a driver’s licence reinstatement charge. Additional consequences include:

• potential charges under the Criminal Code
• vehicle impoundment
• a mandatory Impaired Driver Assessment at the driver’s expense
• participation in Manitoba’s Ignition Interlock Program

Criminal Code offences

If you fail or refuse an ASD, you may face enhanced roadside sanctions, including an administrative penalty, vehicle impoundment, mandatory Ignition Interlock participation for one year, and movement of 10 levels down the Driver Safety Rating scale.

Criminal Code offences include:

• driving, or having care and control of any vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol;
• impaired driving causing bodily harm or death;
• driving with a blood alcohol concentration equal to or over .08;
• driving with a blood drug concentration over 5 ng of THC;
• driving with a combined blood alcohol concentration over .05 and blood drug concentration over 2.5 ng of THC; driving with any concentration of illegal drugs in your system, refusing to provide a breath, saliva or blood sample to the police;
• refusing to perform a physical coordination test or drug recognition evaluation, or refusing to follow a police officer’s instructions regarding either test.

If a driver is convicted* of an impaired driving-related Criminal Code offence, you will face sanctions such as:

• moving an additional five, 10 or 15 levels down the Driver Safety Rating scale
• a significant court-imposed fine
• possible imprisonment
• a court-imposed driving prohibition
• mandatory driver’s licence suspension under The Highway Traffic Act
• participation in Manitoba’s Ignition Interlock Program
• possible vehicle forfeiture

A discharge under the Criminal Code for certain driving related offences may be treated as a conviction under The Highway Traffic Act