In the days following Premier Scott Moe’s pick-up truck being impounded, controversy has sparked on the internet over whether the premier deserves the amount of public scrutiny he’s receiving. 

Arguments are taking place on the internet; questioning Moe and the overarching problem of drunk driving in Saskatchewan.

There is speculation that the driver of the vehicle is Moe’s adult son, who is attending law school in B.C. However, the suspect involved in the DUI was not arrested at the scene, so it is unknown who the driver was at this time.

Tammy Roberts, a well-known blogger and prevalent critic of the government, tweeted, “I encourage you to use caution attacking Moe’s kid. Some of you are way too smug about it & it’s a really bad look. Fair play aside, consider not doing it because you will evoke empathy – even sympathy – for Moe in others who have adult kids who screw up.”

Sara Birrel, a freelance journalist, believes sympathy for Moe and the driver of the impounded vehicle in B.C. points to a much larger issue in Saskatchewan that hits close to home for many in the province. 

Birrell adamantly refutes Robert’s views on social media.

“I think that a lot of the sympathy comes from the fact that people in Saskatchewan drive drunk and we know this and so a lot of people, I think, have a personal stake in this,” said Birrell. “They’ve driven drunk or someone that they know has driven drunk, and they have personal reasons to be overly solicitous to people who have been charged or convicted of drunk driving.” 

Opinions are divided on social media over if the family should be off-limits or not. 

On one side, drunk driving is seen as a personal matter, even if the person involved in the illegal activity has a family member a high-level politician. However, there is also discussion about how the people who drink and drive should be shamed.

Birrell points to how the topic of debate and contention isn’t really about whether his son was the one who was in the truck, but rather about how this whole controversy is emblematic of the failure to address the problem of drunk driving in the province. 

According to Statistics Canada, “The police-reported impaired driving rate increased by 19% in 2019 from 2018, ending a downward trend that began in 2011.”

“It’s not even mostly about Scott Moe’s parenting,” said Birrell, “it’s about the fact that as premier, he’s really repeatedly indicated how little concern he has about drunk driving.”

Moe is not the only person in his party who has been charged with drunk driving. MLA Don McMorris pleaded guilty to drunk driving on Sept. 7, 2016.