Impaired Driving (Nunavut)

*Generally, the Criminal Code is the basis for impaired driving charges, but there may be supplementary sanctions under provincial law.

Impaired driving is the leading criminal cause of death and injury in Canada, according to the Department of Justice. There were more than 69,000 impaired driving incidents reported by the police across the country in 2017, including almost 3,500 drug-impaired driving incidents. If you are caught driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol police have the authority to immediately suspend your licence for 24 hours. If you are caught with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08, you can be charged under Canada’s Criminal Code and face fines and jail terms. 

Like each territory and province in Canada, Nunavut is responsible for governing its roads and highways. The Traffic Safety Act (TSA) lays out the rights and responsibilities of drivers in the territory and includes laws to deal with impaired driving. It should be noted that impaired drivers are typically charged under the Criminal Code, with penalties that can include life in prison for impaired driving causing death. There can also be supplementary charges under the TSA.

If you drive with a BAC equal to or over 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or .08, you can be charged under the Criminal Code. However, police warn that alcohol is not the only substance that can affect your ability to drive.

Cannabis and illegal drugs can impair your ability to drive. The same is true for over-the-counter drugs and prescription medicine, especially when combined with alcohol. Cannabis is now legal in Canada however, driving under the influence of the drug is not. It is an offence to have between two and five nanograms of THC – the primary psychoactive component of cannabis – per ml of blood when operating a vehicle. Operating any conveyance, such as a car or off-road vehicle with a reading of five ng or more of THC per ml of blood is an even more serious offenceAn indictable offence with a maximum punishment of five years or more.. The combined prohibited levels of alcohol and cannabis is 50 mg or more of alcohol per 100 ml of blood and 2.5 ng or more of THC per ml of blood.

If convicted of operating an off-road vehicle, snowmobile or boat when impaired by alcohol or drugs you will face the same consequences as those operating an automobile while impaired.

Nunavut has a zero-tolerance policy for drugs and alcohol for drivers under the age of 22.

Following legislation introduced by the federal government in 2018, police now have the right to demand a breath test from you at a roadside stop even without reasonable suspicion that you have consumed alcohol. Prior to mandatory alcohol screening (MAS), police were only permitted to demand a breath test at a roadside stop if there was proof you had been drinking, such as detecting the smell of alcohol.

You cannot escape punishment by refusing to provide a breath sample nor do you have the right to consult with a lawyer before providing one. It is important to remember that under the Criminal Code, you face the same penalties for failing or refusing to comply with a demand of a peace officerPeople involved in upholding justice as you would for a conviction for impaired driving.

Ignition interlock programs are used across the country following a conviction for impaired driving. An interlock can be installed on your ignition preventing your vehicle from operating if alcohol is detected. The device requires the driver to provide breath samples at random times while their vehicle is running. If a sample is not provided or the driver’s blood alcohol content exceeds the allowed limit, the device will log the event, give a warning and trigger an alarm that will sound until the ignition is turned off. Those eligible for the program are responsible for the cost of installing and using the interlock.

Impaired driving has two separate layers of consequences in Nunavut. The first is the criminal charge under the Criminal Code of Canada — the same offence, penalties and mandatory minimums everywhere in Canada. The second is Nunavut’s own administrative layer — licence suspensions, vehicle impoundment and program requirements that are not a criminal conviction and can apply even before, or without, a criminal charge.

For the criminal charge and the penalties that apply everywhere in Canada, see Impaired Driving.

Roadside suspensions and thresholds

Nunavut’s administrative rules come from the territorial Traffic Safety Act. Under sections 116 to 116.6 of the Act, a peace officer can suspend a driver’s licence, or disqualify an out-of-territory driver, right at the roadside — without going to court. This is an administrative penalty, not a criminal conviction, and it can apply even before, or instead of, any criminal charge.

How long the suspension or disqualification lasts is whichever of the following is longest:

• 24 hours — if the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the driver’s ability to drive is affected by alcohol, another drug, or fatigue. No test result is required for this one; it is based on the officer’s own observations.
• 24 hours — if it is the driver’s first roadside suspension or disqualification in Nunavut, and a test shows at least 50 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (about .05), or a set amount of another drug.
• 30 days — if it is a repeat roadside suspension or disqualification and the test again shows at least 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
• 90 days — if it is a repeat roadside suspension or disqualification and the test shows at least 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, about .08. This is the same reading that can support a Criminal Code charge, but the 90-day roadside suspension itself remains an administrative penalty, separate from that criminal charge.

Zero-tolerance rules

A separate 30-day suspension or disqualification applies to minors, drivers holding a learner’s or probationary (“novice”) licence, and drivers of a commercial vehicle, if a test shows any detectable amount of alcohol or drug at all. There is no tolerance for these drivers, no matter how small the reading — and this zero-tolerance threshold is separate from both the .08 reading that can support a Criminal Code charge and the .05 reading used for the general roadside suspensions above.

Vehicle impoundment

Nunavut’s roadside suspension scheme for alcohol- or drug-affected driving does not include a vehicle-impoundment step. The Act’s vehicle-impoundment provisions cover different situations entirely — such as an uninsured or at-fault vehicle after a collision — not a roadside alcohol or drug suspension.

Ignition interlock

Nunavut does not currently have an ignition-interlock program comparable to other Canadian jurisdictions.

Reinstatement and review

A driver can ask the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to review a roadside suspension or disqualification, but must do so within 10 days of being served notice. Asking for a review does not pause the suspension or disqualification — it stays in force for the whole time the review is happening. Reinstatement fees, towing and storage costs, or program fees may also apply.

Nunavut’s roadside licence suspensions and disqualifications operate alongside the Criminal Code process, not instead of it. A driver can be suspended or disqualified at the roadside under the territorial Traffic Safety Act and separately charged, prosecuted and sentenced under the Criminal Code for the same incident. A federal court driving prohibition under Criminal Code section 320.24 is a separate order tied to a criminal conviction — it is not the same thing as, and does not replace, a territorial roadside suspension under this Act.