Impaired Operation - Boating, Charged on Ontario Lakes
What are the penalties for DUI - Impaired boating?
Boaters caught drinking and boating in Ontario face consequences similar to those for drinking and driving:
- Immediate 3, 7 or 30 day driver's licence suspension if caught with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in the "warn range” of 0.05 to 0.08 and for drivers impaired by drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol based on the results of a Standard Field Sobriety Test. Drivers caught in the "warn range" more than once will face a mandatory alcohol education program and could be subject to treatment programs and ignition interlock.
- Immediate 90-day administrative driver's licence suspension and a $198 administrative fine for boaters exceeding the “legal limit” of 0.08 BAC drivers who fail or refuse to provide a breath or blood sample and drivers who are impaired by drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol based on the results of a Drug Recognition Expert evaluation.
- If convicted under the Criminal Code, the boater will also face:
- Driver's licence suspension, from one year up to a lifetime ban
- Mandatory alcohol assessment, education or treatment, and follow-up
- Ignition interlock condition on their driver's licence for one year to up to a lifetime
- Vehicle impoundment if caught driving a motor vehicle while under suspension
These sanctions apply to anyone who is caught drinking and operating motorized and non-motorized vessels, including power boats, canoes, kayaks, personal watercraft, sailboats, rafts, dinghies and other inflatable boats.
Toronto & GTA Call 289.481.1007 - Outside GTA Call 1-877-497-3927
Starting July 1, 2018, Ontario will have tougher penalties for young and novice drivers who have alcohol in their system and will add matching penalties for drugs. There will also be new penalties for commercial vehicle drivers who have the presence of alcohol or drugs in their system.
(SOURCE MTO.GOV.ON.CA)
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The IDDC - Defending Drinking & Driving Charges Across Ontario
Read Frequently Asked Questions About DUI Charges & Penalties in Ontario:
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An officer requires sufficient grounds to make a lawful demand for a breath sample to be provided either at the roadside or the station. Furthermore at the roadside your legal jeopardy has to be clearly explained to you and, in circumstances where there are multiple attempts to provide a sample, you must be informed about your “last chance” before being charged. In circumstances where a motorist is deemed to have “refused” to provide a sample due to various failed attempts the Crown also has to show that the machine was in proper working order. -
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The real issue in these cases is not whether you are “impaired” in any way but rather whether the Crown can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired. Sometimes there may be an innocence explanation for irregular driving such as fatigue, illness or distraction. Other times evidence of bad driving might be offset by a review of the police station video which betrays no obvious indicia of impairment. -
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There are multiple and sometimes very technical defences to this charge. Apart from operator error or machine malfunction, which can revealed through a careful analysis of breath device records, these cases are often successfully defended based on investigative lapses or constitutional violations. It is a criminal offence to operate a motor vehicle while your blood alcohol level is over the legal limit of: 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. -
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Although the law sanctions the arbitrary detention of motorists to conduct sobriety checks you are not obliged to incriminate yourself when questioned about drinking. This is because you are detained and haven’t been provided with your right to counsel. Although any statements you make in such circumstances can’t be used against you at trial that’s cold comfort at the roadside because an admission of consumption is admissible for the purposes of an officer’s grounds to make a demand for a roadside breath demand. That demand as well as the test must both be done promptly however to withstand constitutional scrutiny. -
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The “free ride” for those driving while under the influence of drugs is now also over. Currently the police have the power to demand a suspect accompany them to the station for a drug evaluation test where they suspect impairment by drugs. Legislation is now also in the works to implement roadside technology to test for drug impairment that would be a similar tool to a breathalyzer, which measures blood alcohol levels. The obvious defence in these cases is whether the officer conducted such tests properly and whether he is properly qualified to render an expert opinion on sobriety -
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You don’t actually have to be driving a motor vehicle to be charged with “DUI”. You can be arrested simply if you are behind the wheel of a parked car but the Crown will have to show that the vehicle was operable and that there was a real risk of danger that you would set the vehicle in motion. -
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Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides everyone in Canada with protection against unreasonable search and seizure. This right provides Canadians with their primary source of constitutionally enforced privacy rights against unreasonable intrusion from the state. Typically, this protects personal information that can be obtained through searching someone in pat-down, entering someone's property or surveillance. -
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If you are convicted of drinking and driving, your fingerprints and photographs will be retained by the RCMP in Ottawa. A conviction also means you will have a criminal record which will show up when police run a check and that can hurt your employment opportunities as well as your travel plans. -
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When it comes to immigration, criminal records can make a huge difference on your ability to remain in the country or your ability to travel to another country in the first place. Sometimes travellers are stopped at the border due to an old conviction. They are stunned to discover that they need to apply for permission to cross due.....