Episode 03 - Was Justice Served? Sentencing in an Impaired Driving Death Part 1

Episode 08: One of the Good ONES+

Can we change the conversation around drinking and driving without changing the way we celebrate? In this episode of LIVID!, Amanda Bickell sits down with Taylor Gwynne from ONES+ Winery, www.drinkones.com [http://www.drinkones.com] one of Canada's pioneering producers of premium alcohol-free wine, to explore how innovation is reshaping the way we think about social drinking, celebration, and personal responsibility. Long before the explosion of the non-alcoholic beverage movement, ONES+ recognised that consumer attitudes were changing. More people were looking for sophisticated alternatives that allowed them to enjoy the ritual of sharing a glass of wine without the effects of alcohol. Whether motivated by health and wellness, pregnancy, recovery, athletic performance, medication, religious beliefs, or simply the desire to drive home safely, today's consumers are proving that enjoying the occasion doesn't have to mean consuming alcohol. Taylor shares the entrepreneurial story behind ONES+, what it was like to launch one of the first Canadian alcohol-free wineries in the market, the challenges of building an entirely new category, and how customer attitudes have evolved over the years. Together, Amanda and Taylor discuss changing drinking culture, the rise of the sober curious movement, why younger generations are drinking less, and how restaurants, retailers, and hospitality businesses are embracing premium alcohol-free options. As with every episode of LIVID!, the conversation returns to the issue of impaired driving. This episode isn't about criticizing people who choose to drink alcohol. It's about encouraging a simple but life-saving idea: separate alcohol and driving. Quality alternatives like ONES+ make it easier than ever to enjoy celebrations, dinners, weddings, holidays, and nights out without having to choose between participating and getting home safely. The goal isn't to eliminate alcohol from our culture—it is to eliminate the expectation that alcohol and driving can ever safely coexist. Whether you're a wine lover, entrepreneur, hospitality professional, designated driver, someone exploring mindful drinking, or simply interested in the future of alcohol-free beverages, this conversation offers insight, inspiration, and a hopeful vision for creating safer communities while preserving the moments that bring us together. In this episode we discuss: * The founding story of ONES+ Winery * Building one of Canada's first premium alcohol-free wineries * The growth of the non-alcoholic wine market * Why younger generations are drinking less * The sober curious movement * Mindful drinking and wellness * Consumer trends in alcohol-free beverages * Hospitality and retail adoption * Impaired driving prevention * Creating safer choices without sacrificing social connection * Why alcohol-free alternatives can help save lives If this conversation resonates with you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who believes we can build a culture where celebrations and safe roads go hand in hand. Keywords: LIVID! Podcast, Amanda Bickell, Taylor Gwynne, ONES+ Winery, ONES Plus, alcohol-free wine, non-alcoholic wine, dealcoholized wine, sober curious, mindful drinking, designated driver, drink responsibly, impaired driving prevention, road safety, zero alcohol wine, alcohol alternatives, wellness, social drinking, alcohol-free lifestyle, safer roads, responsible choices. https://www.poured.ca/cover-story/navigating-canadas-changing-drinking-culture/ [https://www.poured.ca/cover-story/navigating-canadas-changing-drinking-culture/] https://www.frankiewesaluteyou.com/our-story [https://www.frankiewesaluteyou.com/our-story] https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/substance-use/alcohol/low-risk-alcohol-drinking-guidelines.html [https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/substance-use/alcohol/low-risk-alcohol-drinking-guidelines.html] https://www.ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2023-05/Canadas-Guidance-on-Alcohol-and-Health-poster-2023-en.pdf [https://www.ccsa.ca/sites/default/files/2023-05/Canadas-Guidance-on-Alcohol-and-Health-poster-2023-en.pdf]

Episode 07: How Bad Was Our Luck? The Hidden Numbers Behind Impaired Driving

When a loved one is killed by an impaired driver, people often call it "bad luck." But how likely is it, really? And how accurately does Canada track the true impact of impaired driving? In this powerful episode of LIVID (Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving), host Amanda Bickell examines the statistics, data collection practices, and systemic shortcomings surrounding impaired driving in Canada following the death of her daughter, Abbey. Drawing on her background in business, analytics, and performance measurement, Amanda asks a deceptively simple question: What are the odds of being killed by an impaired driver? What begins as a search for answers becomes a revealing investigation into how Canada measures—and often fails to measure—the country's leading criminal cause of death and injury. This episode explores: * Why reliable impaired driving data is surprisingly difficult to find * How inconsistent reporting methods distort the national picture * The impact of Mandatory Alcohol Screening (MAS) and roadside checkstop programs * What Edmonton's data reveals about the prevalence of impaired driving * The difference between impaired driving charges, convictions, and actual fatalities * Why many victims never "count" in official statistics * The challenges facing police, courts, coroners, and policymakers * The human cost of bureaucracy, delayed reporting, and inconsistent enforcement * Why measurement matters if Canada hopes to reduce impaired driving deaths Amanda also shares insights gained from attending the MADD Canada Victim Services Conference, where families from across the country described their experiences navigating grief, justice, and a system that often leaves victims feeling invisible. This episode challenges listeners to rethink the way impaired driving is discussed in Canada. Beyond the numbers lies a difficult truth: these deaths are not simply the result of bad luck. They are the consequence of choices—individual choices, community choices, and societal choices. If Canada wants to reduce impaired driving, it must first be willing to measure it accurately. Keywords: impaired driving, drunk driving, drug-impaired driving, road safety, criminal justice, MADD Canada, Mandatory Alcohol Screening, checkstops, roadside testing, impaired driving statistics, impaired driving deaths, victim advocacy, traffic safety, public policy, data collection, RCMP, driving under the influence, DUI, grief, loss of a child, victim impact, Canada, Amanda Bickell, LIVID Podcast, impaired driving awareness, road crash fatalities, criminal law, prevention, public safety. References for this episode are available on the LIVID website at https://www.lividpodcast.ca/episodes

Episode 06: Rebecca’s Legacy — Turning Grief Into Purpose After Impaired Driving Loss

What happens after the funeral is over… and the world expects you to move on? In Episode 6 of LIVID! (Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving), host Amanda Bickell speaks with Connie Beatty, a fellow bereaved mother she met through MADD Canada Victim Services. Like Amanda, Connie’s life was permanently divided into before and after when an impaired driver killed her 22-year-old daughter, Rebecca, and her friend Anastasia on October 3, 2021. That day Rebecca had plans with her friend. They went for sushi. They stopped at Dairy Queen for Blizzards. They never got to eat them. Just minutes later, an impaired driver crossed the centre line and crashed head-on into Rebecca’s Nissan Versa, killing both young women instantly. In this raw and deeply moving conversation, Connie shares what no parent should ever have to endure: * The moment police arrived at her door with devastating news * The trauma of not being able to say goodbye to her daughter * Planning a funeral while living in complete shock * Watching the criminal justice system unfold during a dangerous driving and impaired driving trial * Writing a victim impact statement * Supporting surviving siblings through unimaginable grief * Learning how marriage, family relationships, and identity change after traumatic loss Connie also shares how she has transformed unimaginable grief into meaningful advocacy work to honour Rebecca’s legacy.  Through her annual “Blizzard for the Girls” memorial, she invites people to buy a Blizzard in memory of Rebecca and Anastasia. Through her MADD Hatter Mother’s Day Tea Party fundraiser, she raises money and awareness for MADD Canada while encouraging safer choices around alcohol consumption. And through annual trips to celebrate Mexico’s Day of the Dead traditions, Connie found a powerful cultural model for remembering loved ones openly—something many grieving families feel is missing in North American culture. This episode explores: ✔ impaired driving awareness ✔ drunk driving prevention ✔ grieving the loss of a child ✔ surviving traumatic loss ✔ victim impact statements ✔ criminal sentencing in impaired driving cases ✔ sibling grief after loss ✔ bereaved mothers ✔ grief advocacy ✔ MADD Canada victim support ✔ healing after tragedy ✔ honouring loved ones after death Connie’s story is heartbreaking, but it’s also filled with courage, resilience, and purpose. If you’ve been impacted by impaired driving, grief, traumatic loss, or want to better understand the lifelong consequences of impaired driving fatalities, this episode is an important listen. Subscribe to LIVID! for real stories, expert insights, victim advocacy conversations, and education aimed at preventing impaired driving deaths #ImpairedDriving #DrunkDrivingAwareness #GriefPodcast #MADDCanada #VictimImpactStatement #BereavedParents #ChildLoss #RoadSafety #VictimAdvocacy #HealingAfterLoss #DayOfTheDead #PodcastInterview #TrueStories #LIVIDPodcast

Episode 05: Why Victims' Stories Don't Stop Impaired Driving

Why does impaired driving still happen after decades of heartbreaking victim stories, awareness campaigns, police crackdowns, and public outrage? In Episode 5 of LIVID: Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving, Amanda Bickell asks a difficult question many people are afraid to say out loud: What if victim stories are not enough to create change? After losing her daughter Abbey to an impaired driver, Amanda examines why emotional appeals, memorial campaigns, tragic headlines, and pleas from grieving families have failed to end one of Canada’s deadliest preventable crimes. This episode explores: • Why cautionary tales often fail to change behaviour • Why many impaired drivers believe nothing bad will happen to them • How sentencing realities weaken deterrence • Why empathy-based messaging may miss the highest-risk offenders • Canada’s struggle between individual rights vs collective safety • Why anti-impaired-driving groups are outspent by alcohol marketing • Whether awareness campaigns can truly solve the problem • The staggering $29.25 billion annual cost of impaired driving in Canada • What every Canadian is already paying for this crisis Amanda also explores whether a different message—financial consequences, personal accountability, and collective responsibility—may be more effective than emotional appeals alone. This is not an attack on victims sharing their stories. It is a challenge to ask whether Canada has relied on the wrong strategy for too long. Because while we wait for awareness to work… More people die. More families grieve. More stories are ignored. LIVID is a Canadian podcast confronting impaired driving through grief, truth, research, justice, and solutions. Content Warning: This episode discusses death, traumatic loss, impaired driving, grief, and failures within the justice system. If this episode matters to you: • Share it • Talk about impaired driving • Intervene when someone is about to drive impaired • Call 911 when necessary Real change starts with uncomfortable conversations. References: madd.ca/pages/impaired-driving/overview/statistics/ canada.ca/en/public-safety-canada/campaigns/national-impaired-driving-prevention-week.html madd.ca/pages/national-impaired-driving-prevention-week-stronger-action-needed-to-stop-impaired-driving/ rcmp.ca/en/bc/kelowna/news/2026/04/4351820#s7 wikipedia.org/wiki/Cautionary_tale share.google/Qj7dscYem9ugu1Vuk thestar.com/news/canada/life-sentence-for-incorrigible-drunk-driver/article_74764fc7-fbc9-5286-b88b-92b11e1afcf9.html canada.ca/en/parole-board/corporate/publications-and-forms/timeline-for-conditional-release.html worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/individualistic-countries helpfulprofessor.com/collectivism-vs-individualism/ cmha.ca/news/only-13-of-canadians-are-feeling-empathetic/ cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/impaired-drunk-driving-supreme-court-constitution-9.7074077 madd.ca/pages/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/MADD-Heroes-PSA-Report_Final.pdf mediaincanada.com/2021/05/31/alcohol-ad-spending-is-on-the-rise-report/ publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/dprtmntl-rslts-rprt-2023-24/hrz-hzl-en.aspx archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/archive/pre2001/1999/1876.asp madd.ca/pages/impaired-driving/overview/the-financial-cost-of-impaired-driving/ canada.ca/en/department-finance/services/publications/annual-financial-report/2025.html #impaireddriving #dui #canada #roadsafety #griefpodcast #justice #MADDCanada #victimrights

Episode 04: Was Justice Served? Sentencing in an Impaired Driving Death Part 2

After 967 days of waiting, the sentence was finally delivered. In Part 2 of Episode 4 of LIVID: Learning, Insights, and Voices on Impaired Driving, Amanda Bickell shares what happened in court when the man who killed her 22-year-old daughter, Abbey, was sentenced. Four and a half years in prison. A seven-year driving ban. And one question that wouldn’t go away: Was justice actually served? This episode takes you inside the final stage of sentencing—from the defence’s arguments for leniency to the judge’s reasoning, and the emotional aftermath that followed. Amanda breaks down what was said in court and challenges how justice is defined in Canada. You’ll hear:• The 11 mitigating factors presented by the defence• Why claims of remorse, addiction, and “first offence” status are so complex• How Alcohol Use Disorder was treated in sentencing• The role of media coverage—and whether public awareness is considered punishment• How sentencing principles like deterrence and denunciation are applied• Why precedent and parity may be reinforcing a system that isn’t working Amanda also explores four different types of justice—procedural, distributive, retributive, and restorative—and asks whether any of them were truly achieved. Even when the system works exactly as designed, does it actually deliver justice? If sentencing is meant to deter impaired driving and send a message that this behaviour is unacceptable, this episode asks a difficult question: If it’s working… why is this still happening? This is not just about one case. It’s about what we accept, and what needs to change. Content Note: This episode discusses impaired driving, traumatic loss, and grief. Listener discretion is advised. What you Can Do:Share this episode. Talk about impaired driving. Intervene when you see it. Call 911 if needed. Real change starts with uncomfortable conversations. REFERENCES * R. c. Walsh, 2005 https://www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qccq/doc/2005/2005canlii10072/2005canlii10072.html [https://www.canlii.org/fr/qc/qccq/doc/2005/2005canlii10072/2005canlii10072.html] * Government of British Columbia. Alcohol and drug related driving prohibitions and suspensions https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/roadsafetybc/prohibitions/alcohol [https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/transportation/driving-and-cycling/roadsafetybc/prohibitions/alcohol] * Northcote, J. & Livingston, M. (2011) “Accuracy of Self-Reported Drinking” https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agr138 [https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agr138] * Celestine, N. (2020) Prosocial Behavior https://positivepsychology.com/prosocial-behavior/ [https://positivepsychology.com/prosocial-behavior/] * PIHL Law Corp. Drunk Driving Not Just a Criminal Problem https://pihl.ca/drunk-driving-not-just-a-criminal-problem/ [https://pihl.ca/drunk-driving-not-just-a-criminal-problem/] * Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO) https://iiobc.ca/media/iio-concludes-investigation-into-a-july-2023-motor-vehicle-incident-in-burnaby-2023-201/ [https://iiobc.ca/media/iio-concludes-investigation-into-a-july-2023-motor-vehicle-incident-in-burnaby-2023-201/] * Nesbit, Ben. CTV News https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/she-would-be-furious-this-is-how-her-life-ended-mother-of-woman-killed-in-crash-with-suspected-impaired-driver-speaks-out/ [https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/she-would-be-furious-this-is-how-her-life-ended-mother-of-woman-killed-in-crash-with-suspected-impaired-driver-speaks-out/] * RCMP Press Release https://bc-archives.rcmp.ca/ViewPage641e.html [https://bc-archives.rcmp.ca/ViewPage641e.html] * Nesbitt, Ben. CTV News (Guilty Plea) https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/man-pleads-guilty-in-impaired-crash-that-killed-woman-in-burnaby-bc/ [https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/man-pleads-guilty-in-impaired-crash-that-killed-woman-in-burnaby-bc/] * Maragos, Demetra. CTV News (Sentencing) https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/parents-worst-nightmare-victims-mother-speaks-at-sentencing-for-fatal-bc-crash/ [https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/parents-worst-nightmare-victims-mother-speaks-at-sentencing-for-fatal-bc-crash/] * Steacy, Lisa & Maragos, Demetra. CTV News (Sentence Outcome) https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/bc-man-sentenced-to-4-years-in-prison-for-crash-that-killed-woman/ [https://www.ctvnews.ca/vancouver/article/bc-man-sentenced-to-4-years-in-prison-for-crash-that-killed-woman/] * Government of Canada. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/ [https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/rfc-dlc/ccrf-ccdl/] * Criminal Code of Canada, s. 718.2(b) https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-718.2.html [https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/c-46/section-718.2.html] * Wikipedia. Justice https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice] * Kruse Law. Sentencing for Manslaughter in Canada https://www.kruselaw.ca/blog/sentencing-for-manslaughter/ [https://www.kruselaw.ca/blog/sentencing-for-manslaughter/] * Government of Canada. Recidivism Among Impaired Drivers https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2011CanLIIDocs627 [https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2011CanLIIDocs627]