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Holding a cell phone between the ear and shoulder while driving constitutes an offence under the Highway Traffic Act.
The appellant appealed her conviction for driving with a hand-held communication device contrary to section 78.1(1) of the Highway Traffic Act.
The facts were undisputed: the appellant was observed operating her vehicle with a cell phone positioned between her right ear and shoulder, with both hands on the steering wheel.
The appellant argued she was not "holding" the device and alternatively that her conduct was saved by the hands-free mode exception.
The court rejected both arguments, finding that "holding" includes positioning the device between the ear and shoulder, and that hands-free mode contemplates manufacturer-designed adaptations, not merely using the device without hands.
The appeal was dismissed.
An unlicensed taxicab driver was convicted of trespassing at an airport after failing to prove he fell within the exemptions to a non-entry notice.
The defendant, an unlicensed taxicab driver, was charged with trespassing at Toronto Pearson International Airport contrary to section 2(1)(a)(i) of the Trespass to Property Act after entering the airport on September 30, 2009, despite having been served with a written non-entry notice on September 19, 2009.
The central legal issue was whether the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not fall within the traveller or employment exemptions to the non-entry ban, or whether the burden rests on the defendant to prove on a balance of probabilities that he fell within such exemptions.
The court held that section 47(3) of the Provincial Offences Act places the burden on the defendant to prove the exemptions apply.
The defendant failed to produce evidence of travel documents or compliance with employment requirements, and was convicted.
