The Nova Scotia Court of Appeals has rejected a man’s proposal to reverse the revocation of the personalized license plate bearing his last name, “Grabher”.
Lorne Grabher’s lawyers filed an appeal in January alleging that her right to freedom of expression had been violated. But the appellate court issued a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, declaring that the trial judge was right in declaring that Grabher’s plaque was not an area to which freedom of expression applied.
“I do not agree that the trial judge erred in concluding that there was no‘ background on free speech ’in relation to personalized registrations,” Judge Cindy A. Bourgeois wrote on behalf of the panel. three judges.
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The “GRABHER” license plate, Bourgeois pointed out, could in fact be interpreted as a call for sexist violence.
Grabher’s Nova Scotia license plate, which had been around for nearly 30 years, was recalled by the province’s motor vehicle registrar in December 2016 after a complaint was received that the sign would promote hatred towards women. .
In 2017 he took the matter to court to recall the registrar’s decision, arguing that it violated his statutory rights to equality and freedom of expression.
The lower court judge, Judge Darlene Jamieson, ruled that license plates are not usually seen as “public places” with a history of free speech, a sentiment agreed to by the appellate court.
Under provincial law, the Nova Scotia registrar may refuse to issue personalized license plates if the proposed character combination expresses or implies a word, phrase or idea that could be considered offensive or distasteful.
During the appeals process, one of Grabher’s attorneys, Jay Cameron, noted that the registrar had ruled that Grabher’s license plate was appropriate for 27 years and only ruled that it was illegal after an anonymous complaint. .
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“On what basis? What had changed? Cameron asked the court for an appeal. “Mr. Grabher’s name was the same, the plaque was the same, the law was the same, the Constitution is the same. There is no evidence that for almost three decades the plaque harmed anyone. “
Crown attorney Jack Townsend, however, argued that all license plates are owned by the Crown and remain so even when shown in a vehicle.
“What I would like to present is that very little can be achieved in this space in terms of expression that promotes values related to democracy or the pursuit of truth,” Townsend said.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 24, 2021.
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