Second

Session, 45th General Assembly

Elizabeth II, 2005

BILL 61

AN ACT TO AMEND THE

HIGHWAY TRAFFIC ACT

Received and Read the First Time ...................................................................................................

Second Reading .................................................................................................................................

Committee ............................................................................................................................................

Third Reading .....................................................................................................................................

Royal Assent ......................................................................................................................................

HONOURABLE

DIANNE WHALEN

Minister

of Government Services

Ordered

to be printed by the Honourable House of Assembly

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Clauses 1, 2 and 4 of the Bill would

amend the Highway Traffic Act to

abolish the Driver's Licence Suspension Review Board and revoke the appointment

of its members.

Clause 3 would add a new provision to

the Act to provide an appeal from a decision of the registrar to refuse,

suspend or cancel a licence or motor vehicle registration to the Trial

Division.

Clause 5 of the Bill would provide

transitional provisions to continue the board for the purpose of hearing and

deciding applications currently before the board and to preserve the right of

appeal in relation to those applications.

Clause 6 of the Bill would prohibit

actions against the Crown in relation to the abolition of the board.

A BILL

AN ACT TO AMEND THE HIGHWAY

TRAFFIC ACT

Analysis

S.2 Amdt.

Definitions

S.71 Amdt.

Where licence suspended or cancelled

3. S.84.1 Added

Appeal

Ss.85 to 93 Rep.

85. Board

86. Remuneration of board members

87. Powers of board members

88. Rules of procedure

89. Witnesses

90. Inquiries by single member

91. Powers, etc. of board

92. Appeal

93. Regulations

Transitional

Protection from liability

Be it enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor and

House of Assembly in Legislative Session convened, as follows:

RSNL1990 cH-3

as amended

1. Paragraph 2(

f) of the Highway Traffic Act is repealed.

2. Subsections 71(5) and (6) of the Act are

repealed.

3. The Act is amended by adding immediately after

section 84 the following:

Appeal

84.1

(1) A

person aggrieved by a decision of the registrar to suspend, cancel or refuse

(

a) a permit or licence;

(

b) the registration of a motor vehicle; or

(

c) an application for a permit or licence,

other than a suspension or cancellation made

under sections 65, 67 and 68 or as a result of an accumulation of demerit

points, may within 30 days of receipt of the decision, appeal the decision to a

judge of the Trial Division by filing in the office of the Registrar of the

Supreme Court a notice of appeal and by serving a copy of the notice upon the

registrar.

(2) The practice and procedure under the Judicature Act and the Rules of Court

relating to appeals shall apply to proceedings under this section.

(3) At the hearing of the appeal, the judge may

(

a) dismiss the appeal;

(

b) order the registrar to restore a licence or

registration cancelled or suspended by the registrar under this Act; or

(

c) order the registrar to issue a licence or

permit that the registrar has refused to issue.

(4) The filing of an appeal under this

section

does not affect the decision appealed from and the decision remains in force

pending the outcome of the appeal.

(5) This

section shall not apply to a novice

driver.

4. Sections 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92 and 93

of the Act are repealed.

Transitional

(1) Notwithstanding the repeal of

subsections 71(5) and 71(6) and sections 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90 and 91 of the

Act, where, prior to the abolition of the Driver's Licence Suspension Review

Board, an application under subsection 71(5) or 91(2) had been made to it,

those members of the board whose term had not expired prior to the coming into

force of this Act shall be continued as the board for purposes of hearing and deciding the application.

(2) An application continued under subsection

(1) may be heard and decided by a single member of the board that is continued

under subsection (1) and the hearing of the application and the decision of the

member shall be considered to be a hearing by, and decision of, the board for

purposes of this section.

(3) Where an application is dealt with by the

board under subsection (1), it shall render its decision within 6 months after

the day this Act comes into force.

(4) Notwithstanding the repeal of sections 85 and

86 of the Act, for the purposes of hearing and deciding an application under

subsection (1), the members who are continued as the board under subsection

(1) shall be compensated for dealing with the application as if sections 85 and 86

had not been repealed.

(5) Notwithstanding the repeal of sections 87, 88,

89, and 91 of the Act, for purposes of hearing and deciding an application under

subsection (1), the board shall continue to have the powers to consider, hear

and decide upon the application as if those sections had not been repealed.

(6) Notwithstanding the repeal of

section 92 of

the Act, a person aggrieved by a decision of the board continued under subsection

(1) may, within 30 days of the decision, appeal from or against that decision

as if

section 92 had not been repealed.

Protection from

liability

6. An action, application or other proceeding does

not lie and shall not be instituted against the Crown as a result of the repeal

of sections 85 to 93 of the Act.

Earl G. Tucker, Queen's Printer