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MADD Canada is the
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
arm of
Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired drivi ...
. Its stated purpose is to stop impaired driving and to support victims. MADD Canada operates public awareness and education programs which focus on preventing impaired driving. Local activities are carried out by chapters in approximately 100 communities across Canada. The organization also supports a number of federal and provincial initiatives aimed at reducing incidents of impaired driving, including changes to
Criminal Code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that migh ...
provisions against drunk driving, and a zero
blood alcohol content Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes; it is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume or mass of blood. For exampl ...
limit for drivers under 21.


Programs

MADD Canada's victim services programs support victims, train victim services volunteers, and deliver death notification training for medical, police, firefighter and victim services personnel. The organization's youth services programs include a multimedia assembly presentation which tours Canadian high schools and is seen by approximately 750,000 students annually. The organisation also provides a classroom education tool called Breaking Point. MADD Canada runs several annual public awareness campaigns and fundraisers, including the "Strides for Change" walk-a-thon, and a door-to-door program, "Faces of MADD Canada", which operates in 13 local communities. "Project Red Ribbon" distributes red ribbons to Canadian motorists to signify the importance of not driving while impaired. Campaign 911 urges the public to call 911 if they see drivers they think may be impaired. MADD Canada also produces television and radio public service announcements across the country. MADD Canada programs are supported through corporate and public donations. The organization also raises funds by selling breath mints, sold especially at pubs in the Toronto area. In July 2021, MADD Canada CEO Andrew Murie called for
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
Premier
Ian Rankin Sir Ian James Rankin (born 28 April 1960) is a Scottish crime writer, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels. Early life Rankin was born in Cardenden, Fife. His father, James, owned a grocery shop, and his mother, Isobel, worked in a schoo ...
to take stronger action against drunk driving following Rankin’s apology for a previously undisclosed conviction for impaired driving. Previously, Saskatchewan Premier
Scott Moe Scott Moe (born July 31, 1973) is a Canadian politician serving as the 15th and current premier of Saskatchewan since February 2, 2018. He is a member of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan for the riding of Rosthern-Shellbrook, first elect ...
and British Columbia Premier
Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...
had taken steps to curb impaired driving following revelations of their own previous charges. In December 2022, MADD Canada partnered with the Fredericton Police Force on their annual Project Red Ribbon campaign, aiming to promote sober driving during the holiday season. In the same month, Fredericton police reported a four-year high in impaired driving arrests, totalling 199 as of December 16, up from 166 in 2021.


Allegations about fundraising

On December 9, 2006, an article in the ''
Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' alleged that about 19 cents of every dollar the organization raised went to victim services and combatting drunk driving. In response to this allegation, MADD Canada temporarily suspended its fundraising activities. MADD CEO Andrew Murie argued that MADD's outreach campaigns also served to warn individual members of the Canadian public that impaired driving can lead to criminal charges, serious injury, and death and was thus not purely fundraising. Murie stated that the
Canada Revenue Agency The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA; ; ) is the revenue service of the Canadian federal government, and most provincial and territorial governments. The CRA collects taxes, administers tax law and policy, and delivers benefit programs and tax credit ...
had audited MADD Canada in 2002-2003 and gave them a "clean bill of health". However, according to the Star's Kevin Donavan, a letter from the Agency dated March 3, 2003, stated that MADD had conflated fundraising with charity, and warned MADD not to count fundraising expenses as charitable expenditures.


See also

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Impaired driving in Canada Impaired driving is the term used in Canada to describe the criminal offence of operating, having care or the control of a motor vehicle while the person's ability to operate the motor vehicle is impaired by alcohol or a drug. Impaired driving is ...


References

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External links


MADD Canada
Charities based in Canada Alcohol law in Canada Political advocacy groups in Canada Temperance organizations in Canada Driving under the influence