Mothers Against Drunk Driving applauding government for new drug-impaired driving penalties

The head of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada is applauding the Ontario Government’s plans to introduce tough new penalties for drug impaired drivers.

The anti-drunk driving group’s CEO Andrew Murie says he hopes other provinces will follow Ontario’s example.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said Monday there will be zero tolerance for those aged 21 and under, novice drivers and any commercial drivers who have detectable presence of drugs in their system.

“We had a goal to balance the new freedom that people in Ontario will have to use cannabis recreationally with everyone’s expectation that it will be managed responsibly,” Wynne said.

Monetary penalties and suspensions for impaired driving offences are also expected to increase.

The province’s announcement comes as the federal government prepares to legalize recreational marijuana next July.

The federal government believes Ontario’s roads will remain safe after July 1 2018 by aligning both drug and alcohol impaired driving offences.