Operation Red Nose returns for first time since start of COVID pandemic

If you’re out spreading holiday cheer this year, make sure you have a safe ride home.

That will be possible with another option for those who shouldn’t be getting behind the wheel.

Operation Red Nose will return this year after taking a hiatus over the past couple of years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In partnership with SGI and the Saskatoon Millennium Lions Club, Operation Red Nose will bring people and their car home after a late night or if someone is too impaired to drive home.

“Since we began Operation Red Nose in Quebec City in 1984, we’ve provided more than 2,300,000 rides in Canada,” said Marie-Chantal Fortin, the national development co-ordinator for Operation Red Nose.

This year, rides will be available in Saskatoon, Prince Albert, Yorkton and The Battlefords.

The rides are free, but any donation is accepted and will go towards local charities.

Ronald McDonald House and the Saskatoon Lions Speedskating Club have been chosen as this year’s recipients for donations.

SGI representative Michael San Miguel says the initiative is important and is personal to him after his nephew, who was in Grade 12, was killed by an impaired driver.

“The holiday season is about spending time with people that mean the most to us. Whether it be getting together for dinner, an office party or spending the night on the couch with your family, we just want this holiday season to be a safe one,” San Miguel said.

Saskatoon Police Service Deputy Chief Randy Huisman says this year, police have investigated 299 incidents of impaired driving where criminal charges were laid. That number has gone down from last year, when 331 charges were laid.

There is an Operation Red Nose app that people can download to their phone that will provide the phone number and hours of operation in order to plan a safe ride home even if it doesn’t involve using the service.

People can call a friend, call a cab, use public transit or stay the night.

Operation Red Nose will begin on Nov. 25 and run every Friday and Saturday night up until Christmas weekend. It also will be available on Dec. 31.