When can you start driving again after a drinking and driving conviction?

A person convicted of a drinking and driving related offence faces a mandatory minimum of 12 months of prohibition from the Criminal Court.  The prohibition will likely increase with every additional conviction thereafter.  However, the Criminal Court may have discretion in increasing the prohibition for a subsequent conviction.  An accused person should be aware that there is no discretion with the Ministry of Transportation.

The Ministry of Transportation will impose a mandatory suspension of a person's driver's license for every drinking and driving conviction and for any criminal code driving offence.  For the first conviction a minimum of 12 months, a second conviction within 10 years a minimum 3 years and a third conviction within 10 years will trigger an indefinite suspension.   However, the Ministry of Transportation will allow a person convicted of a drinking and driving offence to drive before the minimum suspension expires should they fulfill the requirements of the Ignition Interlock Program.  

There are several steams in the Ignition Interlock Program one should be aware of.  They are Streams A, B and C.

Stream A of the interlock Program is available to individuals who have one conviction for a drinking and driving offence and plead guilty within 90 days of the date of the offence.  Stream A is also available to individuals who plead guilty and have a prior conviction for a criminal code driving related offence that is more than 10 years from the date of the second conviction date. 

Stream B of the interlock Program is available to the same individuals described above who plead guilty after 90 days from the date of the offence or are convicted after a trial.

Stream C came into force on July 1, 2018 and allows individuals who have prior convictions for criminal code driving offences to apply to the Ministry to have their license suspension lifted if they enter a plea of guilty within 90 days of the date of the offence.  These individuals must complete the remedial program and install an Interlock Ignition Device in any vehicle they operate for the duration required by the Ministry of Transportation.  This will enable them to drive 9 months after the conviction date instead of the 3 years.