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Highways - Safe Streets Act. R. v. Pahal
In R. v. Pahal (Ont CA, 2023) the Court of Appeal reviews some ancillary HTA amendments brought about by the 2000 Safe Streets Act:(ii) Section 177 of the HTA
[21] Section 177 was enacted as an amendment to the HTA in 1999 under the Safe Streets Act, 1999, S.O. 1999, c. 8, s. 7(1) (in force January 31, 2000).[3] The purpose of the Safe Streets Act, 1999, as described in the title of Bill 8 that enacted the Safe Streets Act was: [T]o promote safety in Ontario by prohibiting aggressive solicitation, solicitation of persons in certain places and disposal of dangerous things in certain places, and to amend the Highway Traffic Act to regulate certain activities on roadways.[22] Section 177(2) of the HTA creates a broad prohibition against soliciting business from the driver or passenger of a motor vehicle while the motor vehicle is on a roadway. As defined under s. 1 of the HTA, the term roadway includes all highways in the province, including municipal highways[4]. However, s. 177(3) stipulates that s. 177(2) does not apply “in an emergency.” Further, s. 177(5) specifies that s. 177 does not affect the HTA tow truck provisions contained in s. 171. To provide context, I will set out s. 177 in its entirety:Soliciting rides prohibited
177 (1) No person, while on the roadway, shall solicit a ride from the driver of a motor vehicle other than a public passenger conveyance.
Soliciting business prohibited
(2) No person, while on the roadway, shall stop, attempt to stop or approach a motor vehicle for the purpose of offering, selling or providing any commodity or service to the driver or any other person in the motor vehicle.
Exception, emergencies
(3) Subsection (2) does not apply to the offer, sale or provision of towing or repair services or any other commodity or service, in an emergency.
Permitted fund-raising by charities
(3.1) Subsection (2) does not apply to fund-raising activities that meet the following conditions:
1. They are conducted by a charitable organization registered under the Income Tax Act (Canada) on a roadway where the maximum speed limit is 50 kilometres per hour.
2. They are permitted by a by-law of the municipality in which the activities are conducted.
Penalty for contravention of subs. (2)
(4) Every person who contravenes subsection (2) is guilty of an offence and is liable,
(a) on a first conviction, to a fine of not more than $500; and
(b) on each subsequent conviction, to a fine of not more than $1,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both.
s. 171 (tow truck services) not affected
(5) Nothing in this section affects the operation of section 171.
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