Company that provides ex-military vehicles to B.C. film shoots wins court case against province
A company that rents out ex-military vehicles for B.C. film productions has won a court order quashing a provincial manager's decision that it claimed had rendered such vehicles "unrentable" and without a resale market in the province.
Blueleader Enterprises Ltd. petitioned the B.C. Supreme Court for judicial review of a pair of "bulletins" issued in 2021 by the provincial government's Manager of Vehicle Inspection and Standards, an office of the Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement branch.
The bulletins were addressed to authorized inspectors and designated inspection facilities in the province, and were intended to address a perceived "loophole" in B.C.'s rules for vehicle inspections, according to Justice Bruce Elwood's decision, which was issued last week and published online Tuesday.
While the director of the CVSE argued that Blueleader lacked standing to challenge the bulletins and that the documents constituted "administrative guidance" rather than a regulatory change, Elwood ultimately ruled in the company's favour.
ICBC raised initial concerns
The bulletins came about after a December 2020 email from ICBC to the CVSE expressing concerns about the province's rules for registering military vehicles, according to Elwood's decision.
Specifically, the provincial insurer reported that an individual – who was not associated with Blueleader – had successfully imported a U.S. military Humvee into B.C. and had it inspected, registered and insured for unlimited use on provincial highways.
"At the point it was processing an application for a Vehicle Identification Number ('VIN') for the vehicle, ICBC realized that it was designed for off-highway military use and not certified as being … compliant for on-highway use," the decision reads.
ICBC asked the CVSE to look into the case and weigh in on what the inspection and registration process for imported vehicles that don't conform to the federal government's Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards should be.
In response, the CVSE took the position that the Humvee in question should be considered a "utility vehicle" and therefore ineligible for inspection. It told ICBC it would communicate this interpretation of the rules to inspectors, which it did through the two bulletins, according to the decision.
The bulletins informed inspectors that ex-military vehicles that do not conform to the CMVSS should be considered utility vehicles, and ended with a reminder that "any improper inspection of vehicles is a violation" of B.C.'s Motor Vehicle Act Regulations and could result in enforcement action.
CVSE exceeded its authority to close loophole
This threat of enforcement action, combined with the bulletins' use of the term "non-conforming ex-military vehicle," which is not defined in existing regulations, convinced Elwood that the bulletins were not merely administrative guidance, but rather "regulatory in nature."
"In my view, the manager did more than provide administrative guidance in the bulletins; he sought to close a perceived 'loophole' in the existing regulatory regime," the judge's decision reads.
"The branch was concerned that owners of ex-military vehicles were presenting their vehicles to designated inspection facilities and obtaining certificates of inspection with which they could then register and insure the vehicles for on-highway use, when those vehicles were not designed for that purpose and may pose a safety hazard to the owner and others."
While that scenario may be a legitimate concern, and the CVSE's interpretation of ex-military vehicles as "utility vehicles" under existing law may be correct, the bulletins still exceeded their sender's legal authority by creating a ban on inspecting such vehicles where none previously existed, Elwood concluded.
"The difficulty is that the manager did not have statutory authority to prohibit the inspection of utility vehicles or any other vehicles," the decision reads. "The existing regulations restrict the use of a utility vehicle on a highway; however, they do not prohibit the inspection of a utility vehicle. Instead, they exempt utility vehicles from the inspection requirement for imported vehicles. An exemption from inspection cannot be relied on as the source of a prohibition on inspection."
"If there is a loophole in the inspection regime that allows owners of ex-military vehicles that were designed for off-road use to register and license those vehicles for use on the highway, it must be closed by regulation or a valid exercise of the powers delegated to the director … It cannot be closed with an information bulletin from the manager."
Having concluded earlier in his decision that the bulletins had a "direct impact" on Blueleader's economic interests and therefore the company had standing to bring the case, Elwood granted the company an order quashing the bulletins.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
East Coast authorities working on warning signs for great white sharks
There's growing evidence that the number of great white sharks is on the rise along Canada's East Coast, where plans are in the works to post warning signs for beachgoers for the first time.
As it happened: How the Oilers crushed the Panthers to force Game 5
The Edmonton Oilers' offence exploded in Game 4 to beat the Florida Panthers 8-1.
Rare surgery in Montreal allows 9-year-old girl to live normal life
A rare surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital is allowing a nine-year-old girl to keep her adrenal glands and live a normal life.
Trump blasts immigrants for taking jobs as he courts voters at a Black church, MAGA event in Detroit
Donald Trump blamed immigrants for stealing jobs and government resources as he courted separate groups of Black voters and hardcore conservatives in battleground Michigan on Saturday.
Your father’s diet before you were born could have affected your health, a new study suggests
Your father's diet before you were born could have played a role in your health, a new study has found.
80 countries at Swiss conference agree territorial integrity of Ukraine must be basis of any peace
Eighty countries jointly called Sunday for the "territorial integrity" of Ukraine to be the basis for any peace agreement to end Russia’s war, though some key developing nations at a Swiss conference did not join in.
Foreign Affairs Minister insists there are no ‘traitors’ in Liberal caucus
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly insists there are no "traitors" in the Liberal caucus, after a report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged there are MPs and senators who are “semi-witting or witting participants” in foreign interference efforts.
Global study ranks two Canadians cities high on list of most expensive places to buy a home
As Canadians continue to struggle with the extremely high cost of buying a home in some of the country’s major urban centres, a new global report is underscoring just how expensive some of those markets are.
Video shows northern Ont. storm hammer shoreline, breaking dock
The owner of a northern Ont. camp is continuing to clean up after an intense storm that prompted a tornado warning Thursday ripped through the area breaking his dock and downing trees.