A Quebec couple is talking about tougher drunk driving laws after a political row

Days after being embroiled in political controversy in the National Assembly, Quebec couple Antoine Bittar and Elizabeth Rivera are talking about advocating for road safety laws, not demanding a $200 meeting with the transport minister.

Last week, the husband and wife, who lost their daughter Jessica in 2017, told a parliamentary committee that they paid $100 each to have a cocktail with Transport Minister Genevieve Guilbeau last fall and talk for a total of four minutes. summons from his office.

They wanted to talk about changing Quebec's blood alcohol limit, so they agreed to pay the bill. But amid the Coalition Avenir Quebec's (CAQ) broader fundraising controversy, the party offered to compensate the couple.

Bittar and Rivera are now trying to focus everyone's attention on what they are fighting for in the first place – the introduction of administrative penalties in Quebec for drivers caught behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level of 0.05. Currently, sanctions are considered only when a person has a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher under the Criminal Code.

“We're trying to save lives and we're trying to prevent other families from going through what we went through,” Bittar told CTV News. “It's impossible to explain to people what it's like to lose a child.”

They want to see changes to Quebec's Highway Safety Code to set administrative penalties, such as fines and license suspensions, for people who drive in the warning range between 0.05 and 0.079.

What drives the couple to protect is their daughter's memory, which they hope to honor by making changes they say could have prevented the tragic accident that ended her life.

“It's not extreme. It's just a warning. Getting caught and paying $1,000, next time you think about it. You're like, 'What? to a taxi'”.

Ontario, like other provinces, has sanctions for warning ranges starting at 0.05. For a first offense, a driver who fails a roadside test must pay a $250 fine and lose their license for three days. They must also pay a license reinstatement fee.

All provinces and territories except Quebec and the Yukon have administrative sanctions for blood alcohol limits below 0.08, according to a petition calling for new legislation in the Quebec legislature last November.

Marianne Dessuralt, head of legal affairs for the Association pour la santé publique du Quebec (ASPQ), supports the proposed legislation. He said the odds of a fatal crash increase four to six times at a level of 0.05 or higher, and most impaired driving crashes involve first-time offenders, not repeat offenders.

Administrative punishment is not a criminal punishment, he says, comparing it with speeding.

“0.05 is really a statement and a warning range, so we have to understand as a nation, as a community. It's a warning range, between which you can understand what it is, because 0.08 you don't really know how. You can have a lot of drinks. But if you pass that score, you may have a criminal record. And until then, it's a warning, so it's an opportunity to self-assess,” he said.

Therese-Anne Cram of MADD Montreal is also advocating for changes to road safety laws in Quebec.

“It works. In B.C., it has dramatically reduced the death rate, and we want to have the same effect in Quebec, but we are being denied it,” he said.

Guilbault's office did not respond to CTV News' request for comment by the time of publication Saturday.

Rivera and Bittar say they cannot understand why the minister refused to lower the limit.

“Here's what we always ask: Can you tell us why?” Bittar said. “Let's talk about it.”