If you’re pulled over at a holiday checkstop in Winnipeg this month, be prepared to blow.
Winnipeg police are moving to mandatory alcohol screening for their yearly festive season checkstop program, which runs throughout December.
The month-long program will require every person stopped to provide a breath sample, bringing city police on par with their RCMP counterparts.
BORIS MINKEVICH / FREE PRESS FILES RCMP have implemented mandatory alcohol testing since 2018.
“The test is simple to provide, only take a few seconds and, assuming you pass, you’ll be on your way,” Winnipeg Police Service Patrol Sgt. Stephane Fontaine said as RCMP and city police jointly launched the program on Tuesday.
Mandatory alcohol testing became law in 2018, and RCMP have implemented it since then. This will be the first year the WPS requires mandatory screening.
“We’ve seen our numbers increase by 50 to 100 per cent in terms of apprehensions,” Sgt. Mark Hume from RCMP Traffic Services said. “We’re stopping an incredible number of people who we otherwise never would have thought were impaired.”
In 2023, the WPS checked 4,032 cars and administered 2,050 tests.
“As we’ve discovered, a person who is impaired becomes quite clever and is difficult to detect,” Fontaine said. “By allowing us to test every driver, we ensure that we catch everyone who is trying to evade and ultimately drive while impaired.”
Police also have the option to screen for drugs, including cannabis and cocaine, but those tests are not mandatory.
“Our message is clear and simple: if you are under the influence of cannabis or alcohol, don’t drive,” Fontaine said. “There’s simply no excuse for driving under the influence.”
Last year, WPS laid 13 charges for impaired driving and 11 more for failing or refusing to comply with a request for a breath sample.
City police suspended 62 drivers roadside for alcohol infractions and five more for drug-related violations.
RCMP, meanwhile, checked 5,223 vehicles and laid 46 alcohol charges, two drug charges and four failure or refusal to comply charges. Another 88 people were suspended roadside for alcohol and 12 more for drug infringements.
Scott Billeck
Reporter
Scott Billeck is a general assignment reporter for the Free Press. A Creative Communications graduate from Red River College, Scott has more than a decade’s worth of experience covering hockey, football and global pandemics. He joined the Free Press in 2024. Read more about Scott.
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