The mother of a 17-year-old Alberta girl who was killed in a highway crash in 2020 wants to see Canada follow the United States’ lead and legislate anti-impairment technology in all new vehicles.
Alexandra Ollington and 16-year-old Keithan Peters of Sherwood Park, Alta., died in a collision on Highway 21 just north of Township Road 542 on Sept. 17, 2020. Morgan Maltby, 15, was seriously injured in the crash near Fort Saskatchewan.
Christopher D. Rempel, 45, of Caronport, Sask., was sentenced to five years in jail followed by a five-year driving prohibition after the judge accepted a joint sentencing submission.
Rempel pleaded guilty to two counts of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and one count of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm. Rempel was also originally charged with operation of a motor vehicle while impaired. Court heard that tests taken after the crash showed a blood alcohol level of 0.194, more than twice the legal limit.
“I don’t think losing a child in a traumatic way — by an impaired driver — is something you ever truly deal with or recover from,” said Maria Popiwchak, Ollington’s mother.
“No matter what the circumstances, no parent should ever lose a child. In my circumstances, she was my only child. With her death, I have lost everything.”
Popiwchak said Rempel was granted day parole after just 14 months. He recently was granted full parole, she said.
“He was released to his home on day parole on Jan. 31, two days after what would have been Alexandra’s 20th birthday,” she said. “This was his full parole hearing at a third of the sentence.
“As a person who worked in a correctional field for 30-plus years, I knew to expect this. What hurt was the fact that the parole board chose to have a paper decision instead of having a hearing. In a hearing, I would have been able to share my point of view, share Alexandra’s story and be allowed to have a voice for the victims. The parole board took that away from me.
“It’s just not fair. Serving a 14 month-sentence for killing two people and causing significant injury to a third is not fair,” Popiwchak told Global News on Wednesday.
She is supporting a petition urging the federal government to require anti-impaired driving technology in new vehicles by 2026-2027.
“I think that is a wonderful first step. In my mind, it’s no different from having ABS brakes or air bags or seat belts in vehicles. It all helps to protect us.
“If it stops them from being able to get in the vehicle and cause harm to another family, I think it’s something we should all take the time and sign.”
MADD Canada has been pushing for this technology to be mandated for over a decade, CEO Steve Sullivan said.
“We think this will have a significant impact on the number of people who are killed or injured by alcohol-impaired drivers.
“They’ve passed legislation in the U.S. and they estimate down there that about 80 per cent of alcohol-impaired driving crashes can be avoided.
“In the U.S., they’ve passed legislation to have this technology in place by 2027-2028,” Sullivan added.
“They’re still deciding on what that technology will be, but it will be passive. So it won’t be something the driver has to do. It might be a sensor in the steering wheel … It could be a combination of cameras in your car … your driving behaviour.”
The technology could save lives, Sullivan said, as well as pressure on the health-care system, law enforcement and courts.
“In terms of Canada, it really kind of makes sense, given our market and how our cars are made in North America, that if the Americans are going this way, it only makes sense for us … but also we want our roads to be as safe as theirs,” he said.
“There are legitimate questions that can be answered … We should still be turning our minds to those Canadian questions where we should have Canadian solutions. We don’t want to wait until the last minute. Those are things we can do now so that we’re ready to move when that happens.”
Sullivan said MADD Canada has discussed the proposal with former federal ministers of transportation and justice, as well as opposition parties, and while there are logistical questions, everyone seems receptive.
Popiwchak says if anything can prevent another family from experiencing the pain she has, it’s worth considering.
“There’s no reason why this should also not happen in Canada.
“We all have a role to play in protecting each other in this society of ours. If there’s anything you can do, please do it,” she said. “We all have a responsibility when we get behind the wheel. Please take that to heart.”
She said her daughter wanted to make the world a better place.
“Whether it was raising money for an animal shelter or donating her hair to cancer, she wanted to leave a positive legacy in this world,” Popiwchak said.