11-24-2007, 08:14 AM
Canada's Transport Minister Tells Drivers, Slow Down! -- but Her Chauffeur Wasn't Listening
11-23-2007
MONTREAL, Canada ââ¬â It's pot-and-kettle time in Canada and tongues are wagging over the way the transport minister is putting her nation's roads to use. Julie Boulet, Quebec's minister for transport, had no sooner pointed a finger at Canadians and told them they must stop speeding than reporters clocked her own chauffeured car repeatedly exceeding speed limits. At one point, her car reportedly surpassed 82 mph in the Montreal area. Even more interesting: She was asleep at the time, although it was mid-morning.
Boulet had just proposed strict anti-speeding legislation that would charge the equivalent of $485 for driving 60 mph in a 30-mph urban zone ââ¬â and would assess double the current five points on the offender's driver license. A reporter noted that the new regulations would have put Boulet's driver on the hook for 10 points and a $710 fine if he had been stopped on the day he was observed speeding.
The Canadian Gazette newspaper called the minister's tacit approval of her driver's speeding "limousine syndrome" and commented, "After a few years in office, a sense of entitlement often takes over." The Quebec premier, Jean Charest, said he is standing by Boulet and called her "the one to guide" speed-limit legislation now and in the future.
11-23-2007
MONTREAL, Canada ââ¬â It's pot-and-kettle time in Canada and tongues are wagging over the way the transport minister is putting her nation's roads to use. Julie Boulet, Quebec's minister for transport, had no sooner pointed a finger at Canadians and told them they must stop speeding than reporters clocked her own chauffeured car repeatedly exceeding speed limits. At one point, her car reportedly surpassed 82 mph in the Montreal area. Even more interesting: She was asleep at the time, although it was mid-morning.
Boulet had just proposed strict anti-speeding legislation that would charge the equivalent of $485 for driving 60 mph in a 30-mph urban zone ââ¬â and would assess double the current five points on the offender's driver license. A reporter noted that the new regulations would have put Boulet's driver on the hook for 10 points and a $710 fine if he had been stopped on the day he was observed speeding.
The Canadian Gazette newspaper called the minister's tacit approval of her driver's speeding "limousine syndrome" and commented, "After a few years in office, a sense of entitlement often takes over." The Quebec premier, Jean Charest, said he is standing by Boulet and called her "the one to guide" speed-limit legislation now and in the future.