Ontario, which has some of the strictest drinking and driving laws and penalties, introduced Bill 209 to amend the Highway Traffic Act to suspend the driver’s licence of anyone convicted of impaired boating.

A new Ontario law means those caught intoxicated at the helm of motorized or non-motorized boats can lose their driver’s licence for 12 hours and could even face a lifetime ban.

As of June last year, boaters – including those paddling a canoe – will face a 12-hour driver’s licence suspension for being caught with blood alcohol over .05

Those caught over the .08 limit will face:

• immediate 90-day suspension
• mandatory alcohol assessment/education
• installation of an ignition-lock system
• vehicle impoundment for those caught driving under suspension
• if convicted, one year to lifetime licence suspension

“We now have the tool to make a meaningful difference,” Toronto Marine Unit S/Insp Tony Crawford said, of the new law.

Various police agencies and emergency responders teamed up along Toronto’s Harbourfront on Tuesday, May 15, to send a message to boaters that there are serious consequences for those who mix alcohol with boating.

“Spread the word that you need to arrive alive and sober boating is the way to go,” Crawford said.

Ontario Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services Monte Kwinter said there is still more education to be done despite a decline in alcohol-related traffic collisions.

“If you drink, don’t drive …not on the roads, nor the waterways or on a snowmobile and ATV trails,” Kwinter said. He said alcohol-related deaths caused during boating mishaps carry the same tragedies to a family.