J.A. v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles, 2018 CanLII 105283

Licence Appeal Tribunal

Safety, Licensing Appeals and Standards Tribunals Ontario

Tribunal d’appel en matière de permis Tribunaux de la sécurité, des appels en matière de permis et des normes Ontario

Date: 2018-01-10

Appeal under Section 50(1) of the Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, from a decision of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles to suspend a driver’s licence under subsection 47(1) of the Act

Between:

J.A. Appellant

and

Registrar of Motor Vehicles Respondent

DECISION AND ORDER

Panel: Peter Savage, M.D., Member Harriet Lewis, Member

For the Appellant: Self-represented For the Respondent: Sonia De Santis, agent

Place and date of hearing: By teleconference: November 14, 2017

REASONS FOR DECISION AND ORDER

A: OVERVIEW

1The appellant is a 60-year-old woman who on February 3, 2017, attended at the emergency room of her local hospital suffering from anxiety. She works from home as a vice president of a family owned business and had attended to her regular duties that morning but shortly after mid-day, she did not feel well and when she felt her heart beating quickly, she decided to go to the hospital. She arrived unaccompanied and by taxi.

2An EKG taken shortly after her arrival was normal, but in her interview with the attending physician, Dr. M., she was asked about her alcohol consumption and admitted to drinking two litres of wine the previous evening. She was not intoxicated at the time of her hospital visit. Her symptoms of anxiety had subsided by late afternoon and she was discharged without any medication or other treatment.

3The Highway Traffic Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, (“the HTA”) requires all physicians to report to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles (the “Registrar”) any patient 16 years or over who is suffering from a medical condition that may make it dangerous for the person to operate a motor vehicle. In accordance with that duty, Dr. M. reported to the Registrar that the appellant was “alcohol dependent”.

4On March 1, 2017, the Registrar issued a notice to J.A. advising her that her driving privileges were suspended and she is appealing that suspension. As is standard in such cases, the notice included a Substance Use Assessment Form to be completed by a family physician, and a notification that if the physician confirms a diagnosis of alcohol dependence, the Ministry of Transportation would require a year’s abstinence from alcohol. The suspension would be subject to reduction if the physician supports reinstatement of driving privileges and confirms successful completion of an alcohol treatment program.

5We are satisfied that the conditions for reinstatement prior to one year are present in in this case. The Registrar’s decision to suspend the appellant’s driver’s licence is set aside. Our reasons and our order for reinstatement follow.

B. PRELIMINARY ISSUES:

6Prior to the introduction of evidence in this appeal, two preliminary issues were raised by the agent for the Registrar and addressed as follows:

1. The Registrar’s record contained an ER Record marked 1A and dated 03/02/17 which noted the results of the medical examination/testing of J.A. The handwritten notes on the document were illegible. No legible copy of the document was available to be tendered by the parties.

2. The Registrar’s record also contained a document from Skill Builders Physiotherapy which the Respondent’s agent advised was not relevant to this appeal and was included by mistake. That document was removed from the record.

C. ISSUES

7The issue in this appeal is: does the appellant suffer from a medical condition, specifically alcohol dependence that is likely to significantly interfere with her ability to drive a motor vehicle safely?

D. LAW

8The Registrar has the power under s. 47(1) of the HTA to suspend or cancel a driver’s licence for any of the grounds listed in subsections (d) through (g) of that section. Subsections (d), (e) and (f) do not apply in this case, and the authority rests with subsection (g) which provides that a licence can be suspended or cancelled for “any other sufficient reason not referred to in clause (d), (e) or (f).”

9Regulation 340/94 of the HTA, s. 14(1)(a) and (b) provide further explanation of the reasons which have been determined to be sufficient for suspension or cancellation as follows:

“14(1) An applicant for or a holder of a driver’s licence must not,

(a) Suffer from any mental, emotional, nervous or physical condition or disability likely to significantly interfere with his or her ability to drive a motor vehicle of the applicable class safely; or

(b) Be addicted to the use of alcohol or a drug to an extent likely to significantly interfere with his or her ability to drive a motor vehicle safely.”

10Subsection 14(2) provides that:

“In determining whether an applicant for or a holder of a driver’s licence of any class meets the qualifications described in subsection (1), the Minister,

(a) may take into consideration the relevant medical standards for applicants or holders of that class of driver’s licence set out in the CCMTA Medical Standards for Drivers; and

(b) may require the applicant or holder to provide evidence satisfactory to the Minister that he or she is able to drive a motor vehicle of the applicable class safely, including,

(i) any reports or examinations under section 15, and

(ii) any additional medical information

Notwithstanding the reference to the CCMTA Medical Standards for Drivers, the Tribunal is not bound to follow the standards in making its decisions.

11The appellant’s right to appeal is provided in s. 50 of the HTA. The Tribunal’s authority under Section 50(2) allows us to “confirm, modify or set aside the decision of the Minister or Registrar.”

E. EVIDENCE AND ANALYSIS

12The Tribunal has heard and reviewed the evidence and submissions of the parties and has considered the evidence in the context of the law and the applicable medical standards. The issue we must determine is whether the appellant suffers from a condition that is likely to significantly interfere with her ability to operate a motor vehicle safely.

13The ER Record filed as document 1A and referred to above, reflects the tests done on J.A. on February 3. The triage note indicates that the patient reported a feeling of a fast heart beat and reported her alcohol consumption. The legible part of the form records her temperature as normal, her heart rate as slightly elevated, her blood pressure as normal and no arrhythmias.

14The subsequent Medical Condition Report, signed by Dr. M., notes only alcohol dependence, with no further elaboration, including no opinion as to whether or not the condition is a serious risk to road safety, although the form provides space for any such opinion.

15The Registrar tendered a certified copy of J.A.’s driving record. It indicates that in May 2016, she was stopped for driving 90KMH in an 80KMH zone. She had no other infractions.

16Also among the documents filed by the Registrar was a Substance Use Assessment Form dated November 1, 2017 and signed by J.A.’s family doctor, Dr. J. J. In that form, Dr. J.J. notes his patient’s dependence on alcohol but also indicates that she has abstained from alcohol for two months and has successfully completed a formal addictions treatment program. The form also indicates that she does not exhibit a pattern of non-adherence.

17In her testimony, J.A. admitted that she had regularly consumed alcohol, always wine, and always in the evening at home. She admits that she “misused” alcohol, but testified that she never drove when she had been drinking or when she wasn’t feeling well after drinking.

18She attributes her increased use of alcohol over the last number of years to various factors and noted two specific events: In 2008, she suffered a family tragedy. Also in that year, she moved from her home in northern Canada to Ottawa and out of her “comfort zone”. Using alcohol helped her deal with these life changing circumstances.

19After the suspension of her licence, she found and tried an addiction program near her home which she found unsatisfactory. On September 5, 2017, J.A. enrolled in a six and a half week residential treatment program at Bellwood Health Services in Toronto. She has not used alcohol since enrolling in the program.

20A letter from Bellwood Health Services attesting to her successful completion of the program was included with the Registrar’s materials. The letter states that J.A. participated in education sessions, videos, discussion groups, group therapy, exercise relaxation, nutritional counselling and relapse prevention. She “cooperated well in all treatment components and made significant gains toward establishing an addiction-free lifestyle”. She has also enrolled in a weekly support group at that facility.

21J.A. is also attending A.A. with a friend who she met at Bellwood. She lives with her husband and two sons, all of whom work as does she in the family business. Her husband and sons are moderate drinkers, but there is no alcohol in the home.

22She has substantial responsibilities in the business and although during the working day there are other employees in her home with her, she hopes in the future to also do some of her work at the main office of the business which is located elsewhere.

23J.A. presented as a credible witness and highly motivated to continue on the positive course of management toward recovery that she has now embarked upon.

F. CONCLUSION:

24Notwithstanding the progress made by J.A. to date, and the evidence provided by her family physician, the Registrar takes the position that J.A. must have abstained from alcohol for a period of one year from the date of suspension, in keeping with the CCMTA standard.

25After considering all of the evidence and the submissions of the parties, we are of the opinion that J.A.’s past pattern of drinking did exhibit alcohol dependence. However, her general health, her residential treatment success, her follow-up plan and her family and business support network indicate that her current condition is not such that it impairs or interferes with her ability to drive a motor vehicle safely.

G. ORDER

For the reasons above, pursuant to subsection 50(2) of the HTA, The Registrar’s decision to suspend the appellant’s driver’s licence is set aside.