Bill 34 2013

An Act to amend the Highway Traffic Act in respect of permit denials and out-of-province service and evidence in certain proceedings and to make a consequential amendment to the Provincial Offences Act

Note: This Act amends or repeals more than one Act.  For the legislative history of these Acts, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

   1.  (1)  Subsections 7 (10) to (12) of the Highway Traffic Act are repealed and the following substituted:

No permit when fines unpaid re specified offences

   (10)  If the payment of a fine imposed on conviction for an offence described in subsection (11) is in default, an order or direction may be made under section 69 of the Provincial Offences Act directing that,

  (a)  a permit held by the convicted person not be validated until the fine is paid; and

  (b)  no permit be issued to the convicted person until the fine is paid.

Same, specified offences

   (11)  The following are the offences referred to in subsection (10):

    1.  A parking infraction.

    2.  An offence under subsection 39.1 (2).

    3.  An offence where the conviction is based on evidence obtained through the use of a photo-radar system.

    4.  An offence where the conviction is based on evidence obtained through the use of a red light camera system.

    5.  An offence under subsection 175 (19) or (20).

Same, validation of more than one permit

   (12)  For the purposes of clause (10) (a), if a person holds more than one permit, the order or direction may apply, at any given time, to prevent validation of only one of the permits.

No permit when fines unpaid re s. 46 (1) offences

   (12.0.1)  If the payment of a fine imposed on conviction for an offence described in subsection 46 (1) (other than an offence described in subsection (11)) is in default, an order or direction may be made under section 69 of the Provincial Offences Act directing that,

  (a)  no permit held by the convicted person be validated until the fine is paid; and

  (b)  no permit be issued to the convicted person until the fine is paid.

   (2)  Subsection 7 (24) of the Act is amended by adding the following clause:

(n.1) providing for exemptions from the application of orders or directions made under section 69 of the Provincial Offences Act pursuant to subsection (12.0.1), including exemptions from all or part of an order or direction and providing for conditions or limitations on exemptions;

   (3)  Section 7 of the Act is amended by adding the following subsection:

Application of subss. (10) and (12.0.1)

   (25)  Subject to any exemptions in the regulations, subsections (10) and (12.0.1) apply with respect to an offence even if the offence, conviction, imposition of the fine or default of payment of the fine occurred before those subsections, as enacted by subsection 1 (1) of the Highway Traffic Statute Law Amendment Act, 2013, come into force.

   2.  Clause 175 (15) (i) of the Act is amended by adding "authorizing service outside Ontario and" after "including".

   3.  Clause 205.25 (f) of the Act is amended by adding "authorizing service outside Ontario and" after "including".

   4.  The Act is amended by adding the following section:

Out-of-province evidence re vehicle ownership

   210.1  (1)  A document or copy of a document certified by a provincial offences officer as having been obtained from the government of any province or territory of Canada or from the government of a state of the United States of America, or from a person or entity authorized by any such government to keep records of vehicle permits, number plates or other evidence of vehicle ownership in that jurisdiction, shall be received in evidence in all courts, without proof of the provincial offences officer's signature, of the manner of his or her obtaining, preparing or certifying the document or copy or of the origin of the document or copy, and is proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, of the facts contained in the document or copy in the following proceedings:

    1.  A proceeding relating to the parking, standing or stopping of a vehicle contrary to any Act, regulation or by-law.

    2.  A proceeding relating to a contravention of subsection 175 (19) or (20). 

    3.  A proceeding that is based on evidence obtained through the use of a red light camera system.

Certificate

   (2)  The certificate described in subsection (1) must be signed by the provincial offences officer who obtained the document or copy of the document from a government, person or entity described in that subsection and attached to the document or copy.

Signature

   (3)  The signature of the provincial offences officer on the certificate may be an original signature or an engraved, lithographed, printed or otherwise mechanically or electronically reproduced signature or facsimile signature.

Information re officer's position

   (4)  The certificate must indicate the clause in the definition of "provincial offences officer" in subsection 1 (1) of the Provincial Offences Act that describes the provincial offences officer's position as a provincial offences officer and, if his or her position is described in clause (f) of that definition, a copy of the designation must be reproduced in or attached to the certificate.

Evidence attached to certificate of offence, certificate of parking infraction

   (5)  Despite subsections (2) and (4), where evidence of the ownership of a vehicle obtained as described in subsection (1) is attached to a certificate of offence or to a certificate of parking infraction,

  (a)  the certificate that is required by subsection (1) may be attached to the certificate of offence or to the certificate of parking infraction or filed as a separate document; and

  (b)  the copy of the provincial offences officer's designation that is required by subsection (4) to be reproduced in or attached to the certificate that is required by subsection (1) may be attached to the certificate of offence or to the certificate of parking infraction or filed as a separate document.

   5.  Subsection 69 (4) of the Provincial Offences Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Highway Traffic Act restriction

   (4)  Orders or directions made under this section pursuant to section 7 of the Highway Traffic Act are subject to subsection 7 (12) of that Act and any regulations made under section 7 of that Act.

Commencement

   6.  This Act comes into force on a day to be named by proclamation of the Lieutenant Governor. 

Short title

   7.  The short title of this Act is the Highway Traffic Statute Law Amendment Act, 2013.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill amends the Highway Traffic Act with respect to permit denials in response to unpaid fines and out-of-province service and evidence of vehicle ownership in certain proceedings.

Current subsections 7 (10) to (12) of the Highway Traffic Act address the refusal to validate or issue a permit where payment of a fine imposed on conviction of certain specified offences is in default.  These subsections are re-enacted to provide that a refusal to validate a permit only applies in respect of one permit held by the convicted person at any given time.  New subsection 7 (12.0.1) of the Act provides that if a person is in default of payment of a fine imposed for an offence described in subsection 46 (1) of the Act, no permit held by that person shall be validated and no permit shall be issued to that person until the fine is paid.  New clause 7 (24) (n.1) of the Act authorizes regulations to be made that provide for exemptions from the application of subsection 7 (12.0.1).  A consequential amendment is made to the Provincial Offences Act.

The amendments to clauses 175 (15) (i) and 205.25 (f) of the Act authorize the service of offence notices outside Ontario on vehicle owners for failing to stop for a school bus and in proceedings based on evidence obtained from a red light camera system.

New section 210.1 of the Act permits documents obtained from other provinces, territories and states of the United States in respect of vehicle ownership and certified by an Ontario provincial offences officer to be admissible in evidence as proof of vehicle ownership in proceedings relating to the parking, standing or stopping of a vehicle, in proceedings against the owner of a vehicle for failing to stop for a school bus and in proceedings based on evidence obtained from a red light camera system.