Quebec rejects coroner’s recommendation to look at .05 blood alcohol limit

A Quebec coroner is recommending the province study reducing the legal blood-alcohol concentration for drivers to .05, but Quebec’s transport minister says lowering the limit is not in the plans.

Coroner Yvon Garneau’s recommendation comes in a report made public today into the 2021 death near Drummondville, Que., of Stéphanie Houle, a passenger in a vehicle driven by someone whose blood-alcohol level was nearly double the Criminal Code limit of .08.

Quebec law uses the same .08 limit, but all other provinces have established a legal limit of .05 or lower — after which drivers could have their licences revoked or face other sanctions.

A spokesperson for Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault says in a statement today that the government is not considering changing the .08 limit, which is the equivalent of 0.08 grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood..

In his report, Garneau also recommends the Transport Ministry take part in a co-ordinated effort to encourage the public to report to police drivers suspected of being impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Garneau has called for tougher drunk driving rules after previous deaths, including mandatory alcohol breath screening devices in all new cars that prevent ignition if a driver is over the limit.