What is the Fine for a DUI in Calgary?

If you are convicted of impaired driving in Calgary (or DUI as it’s usually known), you face a series of consequences.

How serious these consequences are depends partly on whether it is your first offense or not. Repeat offenders usually face much harsher penalties and should not expect too much leniency from the criminal justice system.

One inevitable result of a DUI conviction is a fine. Again, the amount of this fine depends partly on whether it is our first or subsequent offence.

Here’s what you need to know about DUI fines in Calgary…

How much is the DUI fine in Calgary?

Penalties for a DUI first offence in Canada are as follows:

• License suspension (Canada-wide) for an average of one year 
• $1,000 fine
• Mandatory attendance at an education and treatment program
• Requirement to drive with an ignition interlock device

Jail time will not result for first-time offenders if nobody was injured or killed during the commission of the offence. However, offenders also face higher insurance costs and possible cross-border implications—though they will not have a criminal record under the latest impaired driving laws in Alberta.

Although the $1,000 fine and suspension are substantial enough punishments for first offenders, repeat offenders—those who are convicted of DUI subsequent times within a 5 or 10-year period—face even harsher penalties, including jail time:

• A fine of $1,000 (minimum penalty but often more)
• 30-120 days in jail minimum (second or third offence)
• License suspension (Canada-wide) for 3-5 years (up to life)
• The requirement to drive with an ignition interlock device for an extended period

How much are fines for drug-based DUIs in Calgary?

The penalties for drug-based DUIs in Calgary are the same as for alcohol-based DUIs. It is illegal to operate a vehicle while impaired due to any substance in Canada.

However, the fines for drug-based DUIs do vary based on the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels. The $1,000 fine can be a maximum or a minimum penalty depending on the BAC reading.

For instance, for marijuana, if the BAC is 2 nanograms (ng) per millilitre (ml) but less than 5 ng/ml of THC, the maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine.

If the BAC is 5 nanograms (ng) or more of THC combined with 50 mg/100ml or more alcohol, the minimum fine is $1,000.

Can you avoid paying a fine for DUI in Calgary?

Yes, it’s possible to avoid paying a DUI fine by successfully defending the impaired driving charge against you.

An experienced DUI defence lawyer can often increase the chance of case dismissal or, at least, push for some degree of leniency if convicted. This is especially true of first offences, as the justice system does legislate for the fact that some people make honest mistakes.

However, this is a much more difficult argument to make for repeat offenders. Some of the available defences for DUI charges include the following:

• Breach of Charter rights, resulting in evidence being dismissed from the case
• Incorrectly calibrated equipment used to test
• Incorrectly administered tests

The Calgary Police Service uses the Alco-Sensor FST and the Intox EC/IR II as instruments to check for the presence and amount of alcohol in drivers’ bodies. An experienced DUI lawyer like Cory Wilson is very familiar with these screening devices and will check the equipment and test records very carefully during an initial investigation.

If there are technical flaws in the case against you, there is a good chance that you can avoid paying a fine.

Do you have to pay a fine even if you are under the legal limit?

DUI laws in Canada can be confusing for some. A legal limit of 0.08 percent alcohol in the blood applies to anyone operating a motor vehicle. This translates to 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

However, you do not need to exceed the legal blood-alcohol or blood-drug limit to be charged with impaired driving anywhere in Canada.

There are, in fact, two separate DUI offences in the Canadian Criminal Code relating to operating a vehicle while impaired. These are:

• Impaired operation/care or control of a vehicle (because of alcohol or drugs)
• Over 80mg operation/care or control of a vehicle

Here’s what the Criminal Code says:

“Every one commits an offence who operates a motor vehicle or vessel or operates or assists in the operation of an aircraft or of railway equipment or has the care or control of a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment, whether it is in motion or not, (a) while the person’s ability to operate the vehicle, vessel, aircraft or railway equipment is impaired by alcohol or a drug; or (b) having consumed alcohol in such a quantity that the concentration in the person’s blood exceeds eighty milligrams of alcohol in one hundred millilitres of blood.”

So, you can be under the legal limit but still be charged and convicted for a DUI offence in Calgary—and still be liable to pay a $1,000 fine.

Do you have to DUI pay a fine if you refuse a breath sample in Calgary?

If you are stopped and suspected of having alcohol in your body—or your ability to operate a motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol consumption—it is illegal to refuse to provide a breath sample in Calgary.  

This means that even if you are not subsequently convicted of impaired driving or being over the limit, you will face similar penalties to a convicted DUI offender, including a fine.

Call us to arrange a confidential consultation

To speak with Cory Wilson or arrange a free, no-obligation consultation with Wilson Criminal Defence, call 403-978-6052 or email us here.