Ontario is considering a major overhaul of its impaired driving laws, proposing a new measure that would require convicted impaired drivers who kill a child’s parent or guardian to pay ongoing child support. The initiative, announced Tuesday, aims to strengthen accountability and provide direct financial protection to children who lose a parent due to impaired driving.
The new proposal would operate alongside existing legal consequences, including the right of families to pursue civil action against offenders. According to the provincial government, impaired driving remains the leading cause of death on Ontario’s roads. In 2021 alone, 182 people were killed—96 related to alcohol impairment and 86 involving drugs.
Attorney General Doug Downey emphasized the human and long-term financial impact on children whose lives are upended by such tragedies. “No child should have to bear the weight of losing a parent to impaired driving,” he said, noting that the consequences for young survivors can be both emotional and economic. The government’s goal, he added, is to introduce practical measures that bring stability to children who are left behind.
Ontario is looking at the model adopted in Texas in 2023, where individuals convicted of “intoxication manslaughter” and responsible for the death of a child’s parent must pay child support until the child turns 18 or finishes high school. The province says similar examples will help shape an effective implementation strategy tailored to Ontario’s justice system.
If adopted, the proposed law would mark one of the most significant changes to Ontario’s impaired driving penalties in years, aiming to ensure offenders are held accountable long after a conviction—and that affected children receive meaningful support during the most vulnerable years of their lives.