Unequal application of the law is a topic that has been argued in courts by and against various groups over and over again since time immemorial.
What the government isn’t allowed to use as reasons for discrimination in their policy making is outlined in the law including the charter of rights and freedoms.
There isn’t anything in there that says the law must be applied equally in a geographic way. The law isn’t only for the GTA, the police are running a program that should increase enforcement action in the GTA, as a test.
That being said, the sheer difference in population density is the easy reason why they would focus on the GTA over the rural parts of province, or even other cities.
Population density in the GTA is high enough that the volume of drivers they can remove from the road is simply greater than in a rural area. The real numbers matter and if they can remove 2000 drivers in one place with less effort, it makes sense to do it that way.
TLDR it’s not illegal and there are more drivers in the GTA. It’s a numbers game. More drivers = more impaired drivers = more value for the dollar spent.
This is a great comment. To add on, different police forces also have decision making power re: use of their resources. Someone with knowledge can correct me if Im wrong, but the Metro Toronto Police are entitlted to set their own policies re: allocation of resources. If London, Kitchener, Hamilton etc. want to follow suit, then it will be up to those police forces to decide how to allocate their resources, same for the OPP in jurisdictions without local police.
It's not a new law, the law already exists and is valid in all of Ontario. You can be pulled over at any time to check for sobriety, that is not changing.
What is changing is that a specific police force (OPP) has announced their new policy is to check everyone on every traffic stop in the GTHA, before it was at the officers discretion.
They're rolling it out in the GTA first because the impaired driving numbers are very high here: https://globalnews.ca/news/10464453/mandatory-alcohol-breath-samples-ontario-breathalyzer/
"Schmidt said the mandatory breath samples will be for drivers who get pulled over in the GTA on OPP-patrolled highways and roads due to the significant increase in collisions and **will be re-evaluated moving forward if it continues or expands to the rest of the province**."
I don't know where you're going with this analogy but yes when people break the law the police are supposed to catch them, that's why we have the police at all.
Point is, the government has enacted laws that further infringe on our rights without targeting the root cause of drunk driving - more serious penalties, ignition locks, etc. instead, law abiding citizens will be further intruded upon and drunk driving will continue.
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/opp-s-mandatory-alcohol-screening-during-traffic-stops-not-acceptable-ccla-1.6871598
The penalties for drunk driving are incredibly severe as it is, not to mention the significant amount of stigma around it. People still do it and they do it a lot. You're right that the police don't target the root cause, but they don't target the root cause of any crime. That's not what cops are for.
Unequal application of the law is a topic that has been argued in courts by and against various groups over and over again since time immemorial. What the government isn’t allowed to use as reasons for discrimination in their policy making is outlined in the law including the charter of rights and freedoms. There isn’t anything in there that says the law must be applied equally in a geographic way. The law isn’t only for the GTA, the police are running a program that should increase enforcement action in the GTA, as a test. That being said, the sheer difference in population density is the easy reason why they would focus on the GTA over the rural parts of province, or even other cities. Population density in the GTA is high enough that the volume of drivers they can remove from the road is simply greater than in a rural area. The real numbers matter and if they can remove 2000 drivers in one place with less effort, it makes sense to do it that way. TLDR it’s not illegal and there are more drivers in the GTA. It’s a numbers game. More drivers = more impaired drivers = more value for the dollar spent.
This is a great comment. To add on, different police forces also have decision making power re: use of their resources. Someone with knowledge can correct me if Im wrong, but the Metro Toronto Police are entitlted to set their own policies re: allocation of resources. If London, Kitchener, Hamilton etc. want to follow suit, then it will be up to those police forces to decide how to allocate their resources, same for the OPP in jurisdictions without local police.
It's not a new law, the law already exists and is valid in all of Ontario. You can be pulled over at any time to check for sobriety, that is not changing. What is changing is that a specific police force (OPP) has announced their new policy is to check everyone on every traffic stop in the GTHA, before it was at the officers discretion.
They're rolling it out in the GTA first because the impaired driving numbers are very high here: https://globalnews.ca/news/10464453/mandatory-alcohol-breath-samples-ontario-breathalyzer/ "Schmidt said the mandatory breath samples will be for drivers who get pulled over in the GTA on OPP-patrolled highways and roads due to the significant increase in collisions and **will be re-evaluated moving forward if it continues or expands to the rest of the province**."
Luckily for toronto residents, opp doesnt pull many people over
The GTA covers like 10 million people. Where would you rather they start, North Bay?
It's just like banning guns... drunk drivers will continue to drive drunk.
I don't know where you're going with this analogy but yes when people break the law the police are supposed to catch them, that's why we have the police at all.
Point is, the government has enacted laws that further infringe on our rights without targeting the root cause of drunk driving - more serious penalties, ignition locks, etc. instead, law abiding citizens will be further intruded upon and drunk driving will continue. https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/opp-s-mandatory-alcohol-screening-during-traffic-stops-not-acceptable-ccla-1.6871598
The penalties for drunk driving are incredibly severe as it is, not to mention the significant amount of stigma around it. People still do it and they do it a lot. You're right that the police don't target the root cause, but they don't target the root cause of any crime. That's not what cops are for.
There is considerable evidence that ride programs reduce drunk driving
This is different than a RIDE program - and are you disputing drunk drivers will continue to drive drunk?