Bill 55 explained in plain English
Bandit Taxi Cab Safety and Enforcement Act, 2014
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st Parliament, 1st Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 55, the Bandit Taxi Cab Safety and Enforcement Act, 2014, amends the Highway Traffic Act to give municipal officers new powers to stop vehicles, require licenses, and impound vehicles used for unlicensed passenger transportation for compensation, along with increased fines.
Bill 55, also known as the Bandit Taxi Cab Safety and Enforcement Act, 2014, aims to amend the Highway Traffic Act. It seeks to provide municipal law enforcement officers with new powers to address issues related to transporting passengers for compensation without proper licensing. The bill proposes increased fines for such offenses and introduces provisions for the administrative impoundment of vehicles involved. It also clarifies existing provisions related to vehicle stops and the surrender of documents.
- Amends the Highway Traffic Act to address the transportation of passengers for compensation without a required licence, permit, or authorization.
- Grants municipal law enforcement officers the authority to stop motor vehicles if they have reasonable and probable grounds to believe the driver has contravened certain provisions related to unlicensed passenger transportation.
- Requires drivers to immediately stop when signalled or requested to do so by a municipal law enforcement officer.
- Allows municipal law enforcement officers to require the surrender of a driver's licence and the original or copy of any required licence, permit, or authorization for inspection.
- Introduces provisions for the administrative suspension of a driver's licence for seven days when a licence is surrendered or requested.
- Introduces provisions for the administrative impoundment of a motor vehicle for seven days if an officer believes it has been used for unlicensed passenger transportation.
- Allows for a 30-day impoundment of a vehicle if the driver has a prior conviction for contravening subsection 39.1 (1) of the Highway Traffic Act.
- Increases the fines for certain offences related to unlicensed passenger transportation.
- Clarifies that licence suspensions and vehicle impoundments are intended to promote compliance and public safety and do not replace other legal proceedings or penalties.
- Makes conforming amendments to other sections of the Highway Traffic Act to include references to new section 39.2.
- Drivers of motor vehicles transporting passengers for compensation.
- Owners of motor vehicles used for transporting passengers for compensation.
- Municipal law enforcement officers.
- Police officers.
- Officers appointed for carrying out the provisions of the Highway Traffic Act.
- The Registrar of Motor Vehicles (indirectly, through record-keeping requirements).
- Operators of impound facilities.
- Drivers must immediately stop their vehicles when signalled or requested by a municipal law enforcement officer.
- Drivers must surrender their driver's licence upon request from an officer under certain circumstances.
- Drivers must surrender the original or copy of their licence, permit, or authorization for inspection upon demand.
- Owners of impounded vehicles are responsible for removal and impoundment costs.
- Owners of impounded vehicles may bring an action against the driver to recover losses.
- The Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Fines for contravening certain provisions of the Highway Traffic Act are increased, with a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $100,000.
- Costs associated with vehicle removal and impoundment are borne by the owner.
- Conviction for contravening subsection 39.1 (1), (2), (3), (4), or (6), or failing to comply with a municipal officer's requirement under subsection (3.1), is liable to a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $100,000.
- Obstruction or interference with an officer performing duties under this section is an offence liable to a fine of not less than $200 and not more than $5,000, or to imprisonment for up to six months, or both.
- The specific "reasonable and probable grounds" that municipal law enforcement officers need to believe a contravention has occurred are not defined in detail within the bill.
- The bill does not specify what constitutes a "safe stop" for a vehicle.
- Details regarding the contents of regulations that the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make are not fully specified.
This bill makes changes to various sections of the Highway Traffic Act, including adding new powers for municipal officers, increasing fines, and introducing administrative license suspensions and vehicle impoundments for specific offenses related to transporting passengers for hire without proper authorization.
Source: Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
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Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
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Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
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