'No consequences:' dad of drunk driving victim on new ads

Amid the sobbing, there was anger as people watched SGI’s new ad about impaired driving.

The drunk driving campaign features real Saskatchewan people who were killed in drunk driving crashes.

Like Sarah Wensley, the 17-year-old who was killed by a drunk driver in a stolen truck in Saskatoon in 2014.   

Since her death, her father David has been speaking out about the accountability of young offenders. 

“They’re a gang-affiliate and stolen many vehicles before, well-known to police but they never faced any real consequences for their choices so why would they stop?” he said at the legislature Thursday. 

Wensley doesn’t think the new ads will change anything, adding it will come down to a change of attitude.

“My daughter Sarah was taken from her family because people continue to make it easy to steal cars and trucks,” he said. “They leave them running outside restaurants, bars, banks. They leave their keys inside their vehicles, again, no consequence.”

Wensley also pointed to the government’s attitudes to the severity of drinking and driving, particularly the reinstatement of former deputy premier Don McMorris following his own drinking and driving conviction. 

“Don McMorris is back in government caucus, voted back in by his own party,” he lamented. ”Again, there’s no real consequence.”

Joe Hargrave, the minister responsible for SGI, pointed out his party strengthened the laws at the beginning of 2017.

“(Drunk drivers) can’t get away with it and that’s why we changed the laws January 1st,” he said Thursday.

But Hargrave admitted the work to curb drinking and driving isn’t finished.

“Do we need to continue to look at the laws? We’re going to continue to look at the laws, I guarantee it.”

– With files from Sarah Mills