SADD gets $85,000 increase in funding from SGI

Students Against Drunk Driving Saskatchewan is getting a boost from SGI as it tries to educate youths about the dangers of impaired driving.

SGI announced Monday it was providing an additional $85,000 in annual funding to SADD.

“We need to keep working to challenge the culture of complacency toward impaired driving among some in Saskatchewan,” Don Morgan, the minister responsible for SGI, said during a media conference. “To do that, we need to involve young people in those efforts.”

Morgan said this latest funding will bring the total amount of funding that SADD receives from the Crown corporation up to about $207,000.

He also mentioned the largest proportion of impaired drivers in Saskatchewan is made up of those aged 19 to 24.

“Before kids reach that age, we need to reinforce the importance of good decisions that will keep them safe if they start to drink or use cannabis,” he said. “I see this as an investment that will pay dividends in the form of safer roads in the future.”

Meaghann White of SADD said the funding will help the organization get back on track after it struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

She said SADD’s membership dropped about 50 per cent over the last few years.

“The funds will allow us to create a new position within our organization to employ a school community outreach co-ordinator,” White said. “This new person will be responsible for starting SADD chapters in schools across Saskatchewan.”

White said SADD hopes to expand across the province and into First Nations communities.

“The other portion of the fund is going to help fund those initiatives that local chapters are going to be doing,” she said.

Morgan said the initiative deals with impaired driving by way of education rather than enforcement.

“We work with our police partners all the way across the province on the enforcement side and that’s great, but this a far better way to try and reduce impaired driving,” Morgan said.

“It’s hard to say what works the best — education or enforcement — but I’d much rather focus on education and awareness and understanding.”

Morgan said SGI and SADD have been partnered since the mid-1980s.