26

 

Second Session, 44th General Assembly

49 Elizabeth II, 2000

BILL 26

AN ACT TO AMEND THE HIGHWAY
TRAFFIC ACT

Received and Read the First Time

Second Reading

Committee

Third Reading

Royal Assent

HONOURABLE ERNEST MCLEAN

Minister of Government Services and Lands

Ordered to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

 

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Clause 1 of the Bill would repeal and substitute section 4 of the Highway Traffic Act to remove the requirement for officials of the division to be appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council.

Clause 2 of the Bill would add section 42.1 to Part III of the Act to provide an exception in that Part to the common law rule that before a more severe penalty can be imposed for a second offence, that offence must be committed after the first conviction.

Clauses 3 to 11 of the Bill would replace the references to the sequence of offences in Part III of the Act with references to the sequence of convictions and update the references to sections of the Criminal Code.

 

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE HIGHWAY
TRAFFIC ACT

Analysis

1. S.4 R&S
Registrar

2. S.42.1 Added
Exception to Coke's rule

3. S.43 Amdt.
Driver's licence

4. S.61 Amdt.
Report to registrar

5. S.64 Amdt.
Suspension or cancellation of driver's licence

6. S.65 Amdt.
Suspension or cancellation

7. S.67 Amdt.
Concurrent sentence

8. S.68 R&S
Driving without a licence

9. S.69 Amdt.
Commencement of suspension or cancellation

10. S.71 Amdt.
Where licence suspended or cancelled

11. S.73 Amdt.
Wrongful procurement of licence

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSN1990 cH-3
as amended

1. Section 4 of the Highway Traffic Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Registrar

4. (1) An employee of the division shall be designated as Registrar of Motor Vehicles to perform the duties established in this Act or another Act.

(2) Another employee of the division shall be designated as Deputy Registrar of Motor Vehicles who, in the absence or inability of the registrar or when the office of the registrar is vacant, has the powers and shall perform the duties of the registrar.

(3) In the absence or inability of the deputy registrar or when the office of the deputy registrar is vacant, a member of the division staff named by the minister has, in the circumstances in subsection (2), the powers and shall perform the duties of the registrar.

(4) One or more employees of the division may be designated Deputy Registrars (Local) of Motor Vehicles who may, when in charge of offices of the division outside St. John's, exercise those powers of the registrar delegated to them by order of the minister.

 

2. The Act is amended by adding immediately before section 43 the following:

Exception to Coke's rule

42.1 In this Part, in determining whether a conviction is a second or third or subsequent conviction, the only consideration shall be the sequence of convictions and no consideration shall be given to the sequence of commission of offences or whether an offence occurred before or after any conviction.

 

3. Subsection 43(3) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(3) A person who drives a motor vehicle without a driver's licence in violation of subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and is liable

(a) in the case of a first conviction to a fine of $50;

(b) in the case of a second conviction to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200; and

(c) in the case of a third and subsequent conviction to

(i) a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $500,

(ii) imprisonment for a term of not more than 30 days, or

(iii) both a fine and imprisonment.

 

4. (1) Subsection 61(2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) A person who is the holder of a driver's licence shall immediately deliver the licence to the court upon being convicted of an offence under section 220, 221, 236, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 259, 335 or another provision of the Criminal Code involving the use of a motor vehicle or in the commission of which a motor vehicle was used.

(2) Subsection 61(4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(4) Where a licence has been delivered to the court under subsection (2), the court shall transmit the licence to the registrar together with a report setting out the nature of the conviction and the circumstances of the offence.

 

5. Subsection 64(1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Suspension or cancellation of driver's licence

64. (1) The registrar shall by written order suspend or cancel the driver's licence of a person who

(a) has obtained the licence as the result of perjury or the making of a false affidavit or statement to the registrar; or

(b) has been convicted of an offence committed anywhere in Canada under section 335 of the Criminal Code,

for a period of not less than

(c) 3 months in the case of a first conviction; and

(d) 6 months in the case of a subsequent conviction entered within 2 years of the first conviction.

 

6. Subsection 65(1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Suspension or cancellation

65. (1) The registrar shall by written order suspend or cancel the driver's licence or driving privileges of a person who has been convicted of an offence committed anywhere in Canada under section 220, 221, 236, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 259 or another provision of the Criminal Code which involves the use of a motor vehicle or in the commission of which a motor vehicle was used, for a period of not less than

(a) 12 months in the case of a first conviction;

(b) 24 months in the case of a second conviction entered within 5 years after the first conviction; and

(c) 36 months in the case of a third and subsequent conviction entered within 5 years after the first conviction.

 

7. Section 67 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Concurrent suspensions

67. Where a person is convicted of more than one of the offences mentioned in subsection 64(1) or 65(1) and the offences arise out of the same incident, the periods of suspension or cancellation of a driver's licence for all those offences shall run concurrently from the date of the first conviction.

 

8. Section 68 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Driving without a licence

68. The registrar shall by written order suspend or cancel the driver's licence of a person who is convicted of an offence under subsection 73(2), for a period of not less than

(a) 4 months in the case of a first conviction; and

(b) 9 months in the case of a subsequent conviction entered within 5 years after the first conviction.

 

9. Subsection 69(1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Commencement of suspension or cancellation

69. (1) The suspension or cancellation of a driver's licence under section 64 or 65 has effect from the date of the conviction and the suspension or cancellation of a driver's licence under section 68 has effect on a date determined by the registrar.

 

10. (1) Subsection 71(1) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Where licence suspended or cancelled

71. (1) Notwithstanding section 67, where a person whose driver's licence has been suspended or cancelled, during the period of suspension or cancellation

(a) obtains a licence as a result of perjury or the making of a false affidavit or statement to the registrar; or

(b) is convicted of an offence referred to in section 64, 65 or 68,

the further period of suspension or cancellation shall begin after the end of the previous period of suspension or cancellation.

(2) Subsection 71(3) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(3) The registrar may

(a) upon the conviction of a non-resident for an offence under this Act or the regulations, or for an offence committed anywhere in Canada under section 220, 221, 236, 249, 252, 253, 254, 255, 259, 335 or another provision of the Criminal Code which involves the use of a motor vehicle or in the commission of which a motor vehicle was used; or

(b) upon a suspension or cancellation of the driver's licence of a non-resident,

forward a report of the conviction, suspension or cancellation to the administrator of motor vehicle laws in the jurisdiction where the non-resident lives.

 

11. Subsection 73(2) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

(2) A person who drives a motor vehicle and

(a) whose driver's licence has been suspended or cancelled;

(b) who has been disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence;

(c) who has been refused a licence; or

(d) who has been prohibited from driving a motor vehicle,

is guilty of an offence and is liable

(e) in the case of a first conviction to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $200;

(f) in the case of a second conviction to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $300;

(g) in the case of a third and subsequent conviction to a fine of not less than $300 and not more than $500;

(h) to imprisonment for 6 months; or

(i) to both a fine and imprisonment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

©Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer