More than half of them are repeat offenders. Recently this paper reported that drunk-driving statistics were on the rise in the Saint John area. Our educational messages have been sent but not received. The reason is simple. These people are affected by alcoholism.
Alcoholism is a chronic, incurable, progressive and fatal illness.
The most natural thing in the world for an alcoholic to do is drink. The Ontario case raised the question of responsibility. Certainly, no one poured the alcohol down her throat but something could have been done differently. As the judge said, her employer could have stopped her from getting behind the wheel after seeing ample evidence of impairment. I would go further, and ask if there was evidence of a drinking problem before this incident - evidence that the employer should have seen.