We know that 90-day Immediate Roadside Prohibitions financially devastated many families in BC. Regardless of innocence or guilt, if the family car was alleged to have been involved, it was seized for 30 days and the owner was on the hook for towing and storage. For towing companies, it was as though they won the lottery. And of course, the Government collected the HST on all of those charges. But the lottery win for towing companies and the Government came directly from the pockets of BC families, and the loss of the family minivan was a huge hit.
Why should the minivan suffer? High-ranking police officers told us that the money paid for towing and storage was merely punishment. They knew that if it was called punishment by the Government then it would look bad in Court. So, when behind closed doors they consulted with the Government to create the IRP law, they all came to the conclusion that they should seize the vehicle and say that it is for the purpose of education and to protect the public. Without the money going directly to the Government, they could avoid the suggestion that this is simply a fine. It was sneaky. But did it accomplish anything, aside from lining some pockets and impoverishing some BC families?
No. But we have touched on that before and we will discuss it more fully later. The real point is that the family minivan did not do anything wrong and the family should not have had to suffer. Was there a logical connection to the 30 day seizure and impound? Did this feature of the IRP scheme protect the public?
No. What we found having dealt with an enormous number of drinking driving cases for well over a decade is that very few people drove drunk in the immediate months after having been detained for an impaired driving investigation. It is simply not an issue. So holding the car has little to do with protecting the public.
We are certain that it had results, however. We are certain that many children have now learned to distrust the Government and police when they observed first hand that mom lost her job because the van was seized by the police when dad went to get his coat out of it. We know that some kids did not get to play hockey this year because the money that was planned for new skates went to the tow company instead.
Some people were guilty. Many were innocent. But there was no logical reason to make the families suffer. And it is that much more upsetting when you consider that the Government did this with an unlawful law. A law that they knew that they had to disguise to get past the Court.
If you asked the Government if towing and seizing the family car was part of the harshest DUI punishment in Canada, they would say yes – it is punishment. If you asked them the same question when the matter is before the Court, they would say that the purpose of the towing and seizure is to protect the public.