Pub owner admits to drunk driving
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/06/2015 (3978 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The owner of a Winnipeg pub has admitted to drunk driving after being caught swerving all over the road on his way home from work.
Paul Belanger, 36, appeared in court Wednesday and pleaded guilty to driving over .08. Police arrested him on Main Street this past February and found he had a blood-alcohol level of .18, which is more than double the legal limit.
Belanger, who has no prior record, was given a $2,500 fine and one-year driving ban.
“Every day I’ve regretted my actions. I’m grateful every day that no one else was hurt,” Belanger told court on Wednesday.
Belanger opened up Fionn MacCool’s Irish pub on Regent Avenue last October following a lengthy stint as a chef for Earl’s Restaurants. That led provincial court Judge Brent Stewart to grill him about how his arrest is playing out at his place of employment given the nature of his business.
“It’s an everyday conversation,” Belanger said. “I try to be as open as I can about it.”
He told Stewart he now speaks regularly with customers about the perils of drinking and driving, while ensuring all his employees are properly trained on the subject. He said they regularly stop serving people who are clearly intoxicated while assisting in alternative means of travel.
“I’ve tried to become an advocate for that,” said Belanger.
Defence lawyer Mark Wasyliw said the incident has caused major embarrassment for his client while also impacting the business. Belanger lives in St. Vital and spends early mornings and late nights at the bar, which makes travelling back and forth without a driver’s licence a difficult task. He’s also had to find other means of getting supplies picked up and dropped off.
Police followed Belanger’s vehicle for several blocks before finally pulling him over. He narrowly missed hitting several parked cars, court was told.
“It’s a miracle nobody was hit or hurt,” Stewart said Wednesday.
Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber.
Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
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History
Updated on Wednesday, June 17, 2015 5:49 PM CDT: edit copy