Premier’s Kids Picketed Their Dad To Change New Ontario Licence Rules
Posted December 9, 2008 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
On Monday we told you about the major reversal by the Ontario Liberals to one controversial provision in their graduated licence law.
And now we know one of the main reasons it was changed – pressure from the Premier’s own family.
Under the original plan, new drivers wouldn’t be allowed to carry more than one other non-relative passenger under the age of 19 in their cars. But teens complained it was an unfair restriction that would have seriously impacted their ability to have car pools, meet for recreational purposes or give lifts to friends who’d had a bit too much to drink.
A Facebook page protesting the idea garnered 150,000 people within just a few days and despite assurances from Transport Minister Jim Bradley that the government wouldn’t change its mind, it did, officially dropping the rule from the bill.
And now Dalton McGuinty has revealed one of the many reasons he insisted the alteration be carried out. His own kids went after him on the issue.
“We overreached ourselves,” he confesses. “When my own kids began to picket my own home, I knew we’d overstepped. But, you know, I got hit with this everywhere. I’m talking about the grocery store, going for walks. You know, so every once in a while, you step in it.”
The other changes – including a zero blood alcohol limit and automatic licence suspensions for speeding – will remain.
