Drunk-Driving Charge Prompts Tory MP to Resign from Caucus

Oooh! A mini-scandal that doesn't require intimate knowledge of parliamentary procedure!

Peter Goldring, a Conservative MP from Edmonton, has voluntarily resigned from the party's caucus after being charged with one count of refusing to take a roadside breathalyzer test this weekend. Goldring, who's held the riding of Edmonton East since 1997, was pulled over during routine roadside checks at about 12:30 Sunday morning after attending a fundraising event Saturday evening. Goldring has said he has resigned from the Tory caucus until his legal matters are sorted out, bringing the Tories' number of seats in the House of Commons to 164 (five more resignations and it's goodbye, majority). The Edmonton Sun's Angelique Rodrigues reports that this isn't the first time Goldring's dealt with impaired driving:

In 2009, the Toronto-born MP publicly opposed legislation that would require roadside screening for all drivers, regardless of whether they were suspected of being impaired.

"It is safe to say everyone is opposed to drunk driving, but there are civil liberty issues involved," he said on his website at the time.

Goldring has previously admitted to driving under the influence of drugs during his youth.

In 2003, he told the Edmonton Sun that while living in Toronto he would drive across the highway while high on marijuana.

Goldring said he knew his perception was altered dangerously and vowed never to repeat his mistake.

Bittersweet irony, all that, isn't it, Mr. Goldring?