While Alberta had, for decades, previous to December 2020 an administrative license suspension regime that normally ran parallel to criminal impaired-driving investigations, the introduction of the SafeRoads regime at the end of 2020 represented a very significant legal shift. Very often now, drivers who have not had any prior alcohol-related incidents are given only the administrative penalty. This means there are no charges and there will be no trial. Instead, there is a virtual hearing in front of a SafeRoads adjudicator who will determine whether to cancel or confirm the Notice of Administrative Penalty.
If you do nothing with the NAP, you will not end up with a criminal record but be aware that the effects of these are cumulative. A third occurrence will result in a lifetime suspension (which is more severe than any penalty noted in the Criminal Code). Because there is no trial, defending these NAPs costs a fraction of what the fees would be for criminal charges (you can see our fee section for the exact number of our starting price). For more information about the SafeRoads regime, please listen to our podcast series, Legal Eyes, or better yet, call us so we can talk to you about it.