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This information sheet discusses Motor Vehicle Impoundments appeals that can be heard by the Licence Appeal Tribunal (the Tribunal). It will help you learn more about Motor Vehicle Impoundment appeals so that you can file an appeal and prepare for a hearing. The Tribunal makes independent adjudicative decisions based on the facts and law, and it is not related to the Ministry of Transportation or the police.
This Information Sheet is only about one kind of impoundment order – if the police impounded your vehicle for 45, 90 or 180 days because it was being driven by someone whose driver's licence was suspended for a Criminal Code conviction, by someone whose driver's licence was suspended because that driver failed to complete a remedial program, or by someone whose driver's licence had a condition prohibiting them from driving a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.
If you are going to appeal an impoundment of this type, the Tribunal must receive your appeal, and the filing fee, within 15 days of the date the vehicle was impounded. This is stated in Regulation 631/98. If the appeal is received outside the 15 day period, you will also need to send a completed Notice of Motion to extend the time allowed to file an appeal. This Notice is available on the Tribunal's website.
You can appeal the impoundment on one or more of the following grounds:
It is your responsibility to present evidence to the Tribunal that will prove one or more of the five grounds on a balance of probabilities. This means that the Tribunal member needs to be satisfied that it is more likely than not that the facts you presented are true and that you have proven your case. Evidence may be provided to the Tribunal in documents sent with your appeal or before the hearing, or through your oral testimony as a witness at the Tribunal hearing. For more information about evidence, see the Tribunal's Information Sheet – Calling Evidence.
You should present any evidence you have that shows the vehicle was stolen.
For example:
This is not a complete list. You may have other evidence you wish to present to prove this ground of appeal.
You should present any evidence you have that shows the driver of the impounded vehicle had a valid driver's licence and/or that there was no condition prohibiting the driver from driving a motor vehicle without an ignition interlock device.
For example:
This is not a complete list. You may have other evidence you wish to present to prove this ground of appeal.
If you had reasons to believe that the person's driver's licence was not under suspension or had an ignition interlock condition, but later learned you were wrong about this, your ground of appeal may be "due diligence," which is covered in the next section.
You should present any evidence that shows what you did to find out if the driver had a valid driver's licence that was not suspended or that the driver's licence does not have an ignition interlock condition.
For example:
This is not a complete list. You may have other evidence you wish to present to prove this ground of appeal.
Sections 50.2 and 55.1 of Highway Traffic Act and Section 10 of Ontario Regulation 631/98 have details on exceptional hardship that legally limit what the Tribunal can consider. To fully understand these limitations, you should read the Act and the Regulation.
The Tribunal can only consider the exceptional hardship ground if this is the first time that your vehicle was impounded under section 55.1 of the Act. This is true even if you did not appeal that previous impoundment.
The Tribunal can never consider inconvenience in a vehicle impoundment appeal.
For the exceptional hardship ground, you must first prove that you do not have an alternative to the impounded vehicle, and that you have looked at every reasonable option to carry on your daily activities without the impounded vehicle.
If you can prove that there is no available alternative to the impounded vehicle, then the Tribunal may consider how or why the impoundment has resulted in exceptional hardship. One reason would be that the impoundment will result in a threat to the health and safety of a person normally transported in the vehicle or that the impoundment will create a threat to the health and safety of the environment or property of the community.
Another reason would be that someone normally transported by the impounded vehicle (but not the suspended driver) will suffer an "immediate, significant and lasting" loss. This loss could be a financial or economic loss, the loss of employment, education or training, or the loss of an opportunity for employment, education or training. If there is just inconvenience caused by the impoundment, that cannot be considered by the Tribunal.
The Tribunal's previous decisions may help you understand how appeals of impoundments are decided by the Tribunal. These decisions are available on CanLII.
This information sheet is intended to provide general information to appellants and other parties. It is not legal advice. To get legal advice, please consult a person licensed by the Law Society of Ontario.