The ìhysteriaî surrounding the controversial new impaired driving legislation is ìunnecessary,î said Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills Progressive Conservative candidate Darcy Davis.ìHowever, I do have some concerns about Bill 26 and how it'll be enforced,î he added.Bill 26 ñ the Alberta Traffic Safety Amendment Act 2011 ñ was introduced into the Alberta legislature by Transportation Minister Ray Danyluk, who believes it balances prevention and education with tougher sanctions. Those sanctions include a three-day vehicle seizure as a meaningful consequence to influence driver behaviour.Retiring Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills MLA Richard Marz does not support the bill and criticized it for being confusing. As well, Marz worried about the effect the bill would have on the rural hospitality industry, stating that a ìliquor licence makes a difference between being in the black or in the red.îìSome restaurant owners have told me they'll be out of business,î Marz said.Another concern he raised was the fact that the public did not have an opportunity to provide input. ìWe need to be talking to Albertans about this,î Marz added. ìThe public was not fully consulted on the bill.îDanyluk has stated that his goal for this legislation is ìhaving more Albertans arrive home safely at the end of the day. This is safety legislation, first and foremost,î Danyluk said. ìIf you're impaired, you should not be driving.îDavis noted that he's not as worried as some are about the impact of the bill.ìMy main concern is to ensure that people aren't driving while impaired,î he said. ìThere is a fine line between .05 and .08. In the long run, I don't think it'll affect the bottom line of rural restaurant owners.ìThe impact on social drinking won't be such a big thing.îHe noted that he'd like to ìwait and see what happens when the final version is regulation.îìFor me, I'll let Richard as MLA speak on the issue,î Davis said. ìRichard has his feelings about it. I don't have any ability to vote on it.ìWe need to see what comes out in the wash.î
