Courts of all levels have provided direction, and useful quotes, with respect to sentencing impaired drivers:
Drinking and driving must be seen as a true crime, and no longer be brushed off as a mere non-deliberate regulatory offence. R. v. Rhyason, 2007 ABCA 119
Every year, drunk driving leaves a terrible trail of death, injury, heartbreak and destruction. From the point of view of numbers alone, it has a far greater impact on Canadian society than any other crime. In terms of the deaths and serious injuries resulting in hospitalization, drunk driving is clearly the crime which causes the most significant social loss to the country. R. v. Bernshaw, [1995] 1 S.C.R. 254
It is important to note that although Rhyason dealt with sentencing for an impaired driving causing death offence, Bernshaw dealt with a simple traffic stop, but the Supreme Court of Canada still referenced the damage that any impaired driver could cause.