TRUCK ROUTE ENFORCEMENT 101
Courtesy of Lorne Fletcher, Manager Municipal Bylaw Enforcement, Langford, British Columbia
February 25, 2009
I have received inquiries from some Bylaw Enforcement Officers from various communities asking for
clarification in the area of Municipal Bylaw Enforcement Officer or Community Safety Officer authorities
to engage in vehicle stops. Among the questions are those regarding sources in provincial or federal
legislation. Unfortunately it is not a straight line – it is more a case of connect the dots.
Normally we can enforce local Bylaws through our Council appointments and the fact that Council has
the ability/authority to adopt regulatory Bylaws and employ staff to enforce those Bylaws. All the areas
we work within (Zoning, Building, Unsightly Premises, Noise, etc.) have a basis that extends from
provincial statute – primarily the Community Charter.
If you look at BC Regulation 425/2003 – Community Charter Bylaw Enforcement Ticket Regulation, you
will see that there are two areas that are specifically excluded from Municipal Ticketing authority –
firearms offences and motor vehicle speed limits. By virtue of this stated restriction, a local government
cannot use Municipal Ticket Information (MTIs) to impose penalties for firearms offences or speeding
violations. These remain within the purview of the Police (and perhaps CVSE - as Special Provincial
Constables) who have the authority to enforce provincial statutes such as the Motor Vehicle Act and its
Regulations. Beyond these two areas of restriction, the ability of a local government to enforce its
Bylaws using the MTI is quite broad.
Going now to Truck Route Enforcement - the basic authority that we possess as Peace Officers with
respect to being able to detain persons and expect them to produce identification so that a Municipal
Ticket can be prepared and served, applies in Truck Route Enforcement as well. As you know, s.28(2) of
the Offence Act identifies Bylaw Enforcement Officers as having the authority to serve a Summons. MTIs
are a form of Summons (and an Information). Personal service is the basic requirement here and part of
the challenge that we as Bylaw Enforcement Officers face in the (flawed) practice of recording plate
numbers and serving the MTI after the fact, is the possibility that when the alleged offender disputes
that charge, we are then tasked with the obligation of being able to identify to the Courts, the person (in
this case, the driver) who committed the offence.
In these cases, if you have only seen the truck and not the driver at the time of the offence, you cannot
make out your case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In order to engage operators of heavy trucks at the time of the offence and to identify the driver, you
must either follow the offending vehicle to its destination, or compel the driver to pull to the side of the
road so that due process can be effected.
Section 36 of the Police Act gives Council the authority to state our “powers, privileges, and
responsibilities respecting the enforcement of Municipal Bylaws”
Section 27(2) of the Interpretation Act states:
(2) If in an enactment power is given to a person to do or enforce the doing of an act or
thing, all the powers that are necessary to enable the person to do or enforce the doing of the
act or thing are also deemed to be given.
Enactment is defined in the Interpretation Act and includes a “regulation” which is further defined to
include a Bylaw [below}.
"Act" means an Act of the Legislature, whether referred to as a statute, code or by any other
name, and, when referring to past legislation, includes an ordinance or proclamation made
before 1871, that has the force of law;
"enactment" means an Act or a regulation or a portion of an Act or regulation;
"regulation" means a regulation, order, rule, form, tariff of costs or fees, proclamation, letters
patent, commission, warrant, bylaw or other instrument enacted
(a) in execution of a power conferred under an Act, or
(b) by or under the authority of the Lieutenant Governor in Council,
but does not include an order of a court made in the course of an action or an order made by a
public officer or administrative tribunal in a dispute between 2 or more persons;
Traffic Bylaws are normally enacted in execution of a power conferred under an Act (ie: Section 124 &
209 MVA).
Is vehicle mounted Emergency Equipment part of all the powers that are necessary to enable the person
to do or enforce the doing of the “act or thing”?
If Police, Commercial Transport Inspectors, and Air Care Inspectors need emergency equipment to stop
trucks to effect lawful process, then I would suggest that Bylaw Enforcement Officers do as well.
Below is simply an excerpt of MVA/Regs and Emergency Vehicle Driving Operation Regulations that you
need to be aware of:
MOTOR VEHICLE ACT
Approach of emergency vehicle
177
On the immediate approach of an emergency vehicle giving an audible signal by a bell,
siren or exhaust whistle, and showing a visible flashing red light, except when otherwise
directed by a peace officer, a driver must yield the right of way, and immediately drive to
a position parallel to and as close as possible to the nearest edge or curb of the roadway,
clear of an intersection, and stop and remain in that position until the emergency vehicle
has passed.
Exemption for emergency vehicles
122 (1) Despite anything in this Part, but subject to subsections (2) and (4), a driver of an
emergency vehicle may do the following:
(a) exceed the speed limit;
(b) proceed past a red traffic control signal or stop sign without stopping;
(c) disregard rules and traffic control devices governing direction of movement or
turning in specified directions;
(d) stop or stand.
(2) The driver of an emergency vehicle must not exercise the privileges granted by
subsection (1) except in accordance with the regulations.[below].
(3) [Repealed 1997-30-2.]
(4) The driver of an emergency vehicle exercising a privilege granted by subsection (1)
must drive with due regard for safety, having regard to all the circumstances of the case,
including the following:
(a) the nature, condition and use of the highway;
(b) the amount of traffic that is on, or might reasonably be expected to be on, the
highway;
(c) the nature of the use being made of the emergency vehicle at the time.
Emergency Vehicle Driving Regulation
Emergency response by peace officer
4 (1) A peace officer operating an emergency vehicle for purposes other than pursuit
may exercise the privileges granted by section 122 (1) of the Motor Vehicle Act
if
(a) the peace officer has reasonable grounds to believe that the risk of harm to members of the
public from the exercise of those privileges is less than the risk of harm to members of the public
should those privileges not be exercised, and
(b) the peace officer operates the following emergency equipment, as applicable:
(i) in the exercise of privileges described in section 122 (1) (a) to (c) of the Motor Vehicle
Act, an emergency light and siren;
(ii) in the exercise of privileges described in section 122 (1) (d) of the Motor Vehicle Act, an
emergency light or an emergency light and siren. …
[en. B.C. Reg. 37/2000, s. 2; am. B.C. Reg. 136/2007, s. 3.]
B.C. Regulation 26/58 (Motor Vehicle Act Regulations)
Flashing lamps
4.28 (1) A vehicle on a highway may only be equipped with lamps that are capable of
displaying flashes of light if
(a) the lamps are operated in accordance with this Division, or
(b) the director has given written permission and the lamps are lighted in accordance
with the conditions specified by the director.
(2) Red, white or amber flashing lamps may be used on the following vehicles:
(a) a fire department vehicle driven by a member of the fire department in the
discharge of the member's duties;
(b) an official vehicle driven by a peace officer, constable or member of the police
branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the discharge of the officer's duties;
(c) an ambulance, as defined in the Health Emergency Act, if the ambulance is
responding to an emergency call or transporting a patient and it is essential for the
ambulance to gain the right of way;
Peace Officer status for Bylaw Enforcement Officers is confirmed in recent case law (ie: R v. Turko and
Woodward v. CRD). Those court decisions relied on Criminal Code of Canada designations and the
similar definition of a Peace Officer under BC’s Interpretation Act which states:
“ peace officer” includes
(a) a mayor, sheriff and sheriff’s officer,
(b) a warden, correctional officer, and any other officer or permanent employee of a penitentiary,
prison, correctional centre or youth custody centre, and
(c) a police officer, police constable, constable or other person employed for the preservation and
maintenance of the public peace;
For Bylaw Enforcement Officers (Peace Officers as per the above), the following requirement under the
Emergency Vehicle Driving Regulation (EVO):
Driver's licence and training course requirements
8 Commencing on a date specified by the Attorney General, the privileges granted by
section 122 (1)[see above] of the Motor Vehicle Act may not be exercised by a member of a
group unless the member has successfully completed training approved for the group by the
Director of Police Services in the Ministry of Attorney General for the purposes of this
regulation.
The City of Langford equipped two of its Bylaw Enforcement vehicles three years ago with emergency
equipment for enforcement of the city’s Truck Route Bylaw 617, and all of our Bylaw Enforcement and
Community Safety Officers have received EVO Training as required under s.8 of the Regs. (You may be
able to approach PTEC/JIBC to sign up for an EVO course.) In addition, we spent a full day training with
our local RCMP Traffic Section with regard to conducting SAFE traffic stops and the practical instruction
was invaluable to our Officers.
Keep in mind that with the added emergency equipment on municipally owned vehicles for Truck Route
Bylaw enforcement, and the change in status under ICBC coverage (Must be Registered as an Emergency
Vehicle), the general use of these vehicles is now somewhat restricted (to specific and appropriately
trained individuals) under the Motor Vehicle Act and its Regulations. For a smaller community, this may
pose some staff transportation problems.
I must emphasize that in our case, this equipment is ONLY used to engage drivers of vehicles for
enforcement of Langford’s Truck Route Bylaw and to assist the RCMP and Fire Department at
emergency situations such as motor vehicle incidents (accidents) or street closures. Our Officers do not
go ‘Code 3’ to any call and a record is completed each time the EVO equipment is activated. As manager
responsible for this department, I review those reports. Misuse of the equipment outside of this basic
mandate is not acceptable.
There is also a need for increased steps toward ensuring Officer Safety when working alone, and these
include two way communications equipment, personal safety equipment and proper training levels - but
this is another discussion entirely.
I hope this is of some help to our members.
(with thanks to Boyd HUNTER and Fred MUNROE at the City of Nanaimo for supplying some early
background information)
Lorne Fletcher, Manager
Municipal Bylaw Enforcement
City of Langford (250) 474-0604
lfletcher@cityoflangford.ca