Stuart R. MacKay

The Registrar of Alcohol and Gaming proposed to revoke the applicant's liquor licence following a fatal motor vehicle accident involving a patron who had consumed alcohol at the applicant's establishment.

The patron's post-mortem blood alcohol level was significantly above the legal limit.

The Registrar alleged that the licensee permitted drunkenness, served an intoxicated person, and obstructed an inspection by tearing a receipt.

The Licence Appeal Tribunal found that the server only provided a reasonable amount of alcohol to the patron, who showed no signs of intoxication.

The Tribunal accepted the licensee's explanation that the receipt was accidentally torn during normal business operations and found no evidence of obstruction.

Concluding that the licensee did not know or ought to have known the patron was intoxicated, the Tribunal dismissed all allegations and directed the Registrar not to carry out the proposal to revoke the licence.

The applicant brought a motion to stay a Licence Appeal Tribunal hearing regarding the revocation of his motor vehicle dealer registration, pending the outcome of his civil lawsuit against the Registrar in the Superior Court of Justice.

The applicant argued that the civil action, which alleged bad faith and ulterior motives by the Registrar, could render the Tribunal hearing moot and that proceeding would cause irreparable harm through unrecoverable legal costs and the risk of inconsistent findings.

Applying the RJR-MacDonald test, the Tribunal found that while there was a serious issue to be tried, the applicant would not suffer irreparable harm.

Furthermore, the balance of inconvenience favoured proceeding with the hearing, as the public interest in timely regulatory oversight under consumer protection legislation outweighed the low risk of inconsistent findings.

The motion for a stay was dismissed.