Policy

Effective December 1, 2020, the Alberta Impaired Driving Program will be known as the Immediate Roadside Sanctions (IRS) Program.

Changes to suspension types are as follows:

New Suspension Types	Previous Suspension Types
IRS ZERO: Novice	Alberta Zero Alcohol/Drug Tolerance (AZADT)
IRS ZERO: Commercial	N/A
IRS: FAIL	Alberta Administrative Licence Suspension (AALS)
IRS: WARN	IRS

Clients who are served a suspension under the AALS or IRS FAIL Program are immediately suspended. Each suspension includes a term where the driver is unable to legally drive, followed by a term where they can legally drive provided they participate in the Ignition Interlock Program (IIP).

Clients convicted of a Criminal Code (Canada) driving offence will be suspended for a statutory term (federal driving prohibition) in addition to a suspension issued under the Traffic Safety Act. The administrative penalties are imposed with or without a criminal charge, and will result in additional penalties if criminally convicted.

Traffic Safety Act Offences (Provincial)

Provincial penalties relating to impaired driving criminal convictions are:

Occurrence in the last 10 years	Provincial Suspension / Mandatory Ignition Interlock Program Term
First occurrence	1 year suspension from the date the driver is found guilty. 1 year in the Mandatory Ignition Interlock Program.
Second occurrence	3 year suspension from the date the driver is found guilty. 3 years in the Mandatory Ignition Interlock Program.
Third occurrence	5 year suspension from the date the driver is found guilty. Lifetime term in the Mandatory Ignition Interlock Program.

Ignition Interlock Program

Alberta’s Ignition Interlock Program allows a client who has been suspended, due to an AALS, IRS: FAIL, and/or an impaired driving criminal conviction to gain conditional / restricted driving privileges; see 3.20.04 Ignition Interlock Program.

Criminal Code (Canada) Offences (Federal)

Federal criminal offences relating to impaired driving are issued by law enforcement to drivers:

• with a breath or blood sample that is equal to or exceeds 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood;
• who are impaired by alcohol, drug, or by their combination
• with a blood drug concentration that is equal to or exceeds the prescribed limit
• with a blood alcohol concentration and a blood drug concentration that is equal to or exceeds the prescribed limit
• who failed or refused to comply with a demand to provide either a breath or blood sample

Reinstatement

When a client is criminally convicted of an impaired driving charge:

• Their driver's licence suspension takes effect immediately.
• A Notice of Suspension is mailed to the client.
• The suspension remains in effect until all the conditions on the Notice of Suspension are met.
  • This includes clients who have left the province.

The Notice of Suspension includes the details of the suspension, reinstatement date, and the reinstatement condition codes that a client must meet in order to fully reinstate their driving privilege; see QR 3.2 Reinstatement Condition Codes (RC Codes) (pdf) and 3.30.05 Reinstatement Condition Codes / Suspensions.

Note:
If a client’s Notice of Suspension is lost or misplaced, clients can obtain details of their suspension and the reinstatement requirements by requesting a Suspension Verification Form from a registry agent; see 3.30.04 Suspension Verification Form.

Reinstatement Fees

For reinstatement fees see the Registry Agent Product Catalogue (pdf).

Date Originally Issued: Nov 14, 1989
Date Last Revised: Dec 01, 2020