After a B.C. man recently racked up his 21st impaired driving conviction, one lawyer says it’s the system — not the offender — that requires a closer look.
Abbotsford resident Roy Heide pleaded guilty to another charge in December, setting the alleged Canadian record for the most convictions for impaired driving offences, investigators say.
Heide is now serving a nearly five-year sentence.
But Vancouver lawyer Kyla Lee, who specializes in driving infractions, says it seems clear that Heide is someone in need of treatment for intense addiction.
“This case is a perfect demonstration of the way that the system really fails people with long-standing substantantial addiction issues,” Lee said. “This is somebody who obviously needs intensive addiction treatment, and likely has a history of trauma that has led to an addiction that’s this powerful.”
Lee says the treatment services this person needs are likely not being provided in incarceration.
“Something has failed here,” Lee said.
Lee suggests Canada look to other jurisdictions, like some states in the U.S. where specialized courts exist to deal with people who are addicted to alcohol and often convicted for impaired driving. Lee says these courts, called “DUI Courts,” allow people to access the treatment and support they need to get out of the judicial system.
