Appeal under section 50.2 of the Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, from an impoundment of a motor vehicle under section 55.1 of the Act for driving while suspended
Between:
N.S.
Appellant
And
Registrar of Motor Vehicles
Respondent
DECISION AND ORDER
Panel: Stephen Scharbach, Member
Appearances:
For the Appellant: N.S., Appellant
For the Respondent: Sanjay Kapur, Agent
Place and Date of Hearing: Toronto, Ontario
June 18, 2018
DECISION AND ORDER
A. Overview
1The appellant, N.S., is the owner of a 2012 Chevrolet Orlando. She states that on May 9, 2018 she asked her partner to drive her vehicle because she had a headache. Her partner agreed to drive although, unknown to N.S., his driver’s licence was under suspension.
2The vehicle was stopped by the police who determined that the driver’s licence was under suspension. N.S.’s vehicle was impounded for 45 days under s. 55.1 of the Highway Traffic Act (“HTA”).
3N.S. appealed the impoundment to this Tribunal on the single basis that the impoundment will result in exceptional hardship.
B. DECISION
4I conclude that the impoundment will result in exceptional hardship for two reasons. Firstly, it will deprive a totally disabled woman from receiving prompt personal care. Secondly, it will cause economic or financial loss to N.S. which will be immediate, significant, lasting, and, given her financial circumstances, excessively severe. Accordingly, I order the Registrar, pursuant to subsection 50.2(5) of the HTA, to release N.S.’s motor vehicle.
C. ISSUE:
5Section 50.2 of the Highway Traffic Act (“HTA”), provides that the owner of an impounded vehicle may appeal the impoundment to the Tribunal. The section specifies the only permissible grounds upon which an appeal can be based.
6N.S.’s appeal is based on one of those grounds: “that the impoundment will result in significant hardship.”
7Accordingly, the single issue raised in this appeal is whether the impoundment of N.S.’s vehicle will result in exceptional hardship.
D. THE STATUTORY TEST TO DETERMINE EXCEPTIONAL HARDSHIP
8Under the HTA, where a police officer is satisfied that a person is driving while his/her driver’s licence is suspended, the officer is required to detain and impound the vehicle. Section 55.1 of the Act provides that the impound period is 45 days where, as in this case, there has been no previous impoundment in the last two years.
9Section 50.2(3) of the HTA lists the four grounds on which an owner may appeal and on which the Tribunal may order the Registrar to release the motor vehicle. N.S. appeals on the basis of paragraph (d) of subsection 50.2(3), which states:
50.2(3) The only grounds on which an owner may appeal under subsection (1) and the only grounds on which the Tribunal may order the Registrar to release the motor vehicle are,
(d) that the impoundment will result in exceptional hardship.
10In determining whether an impoundment will result in exceptional hardship section 10 of Ontario Regulation 631/98 (the “Regulation”) specifies factors that the Tribunal must consider and specifies others that the Tribunal may not consider.
11The factors that the Tribunal must consider are set out in section 10(1) of the [Regulation](https://www.canlii.org/en/on/laws/regu/o-reg-631-98/latest