TORONTO, (Oct. 7, 2003) — Three Ontario Chief Justices from the highest court in the province are deliberating on a possible precedent-setting case in which two trucking carriers challenged the absolute liability provisions that deal with wheel-offs in the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.

Section 84.1(1) of the Highway Traffic Act provides that where a wheel becomes detached from a commercial motor vehicle, the operator and owner of the commercial motor vehicle are guilty of an offence. The section further provides that it is an absolute liability offence, meaning that upon proof of the wheel detaching, guilt is affixed regardless of whether or not the operator or owner can demonstrate due diligence.

Last week Chief Justice Roy McMurtry, Justice Michael Moldaver, and Justice Marc Rosenberg heard the appeal from the lawyers for Transport Robert and William Cameron Trucking who argued that the absolute liability provisions of section 84.1(1) violate section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Ontario Trucking Association has reported. The lawyers claim that the clause “infringes on the security of the person by attaching a stigma, and by not allowing a defence of due diligence, (the provisions) also offend the principles of fundamental justice.”

The panel reserved judgement on the appeal. A decision is expected within a few months, The OTA said.