A Vancouver lawyer is calling on the government to make changes to roadside prohibitions

A Vancouver lawyer is calling on the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General to deliver on demands she says he made when he was in opposition.

Kyla Lee says Mike Farnworth called on the previous Liberal government to make changes that were recommended by a B.C. Supreme Court ruling, where a judge said a seven day deadline to review immediate roadside prohibitions (IRP) is not enough time.

Lee says she hasn’t seen Farnworth take any steps to table an amendment to the Motor Vehicle Act to allow people to apply for extensions.

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She says it’s to allow British Columbians to file for an IRP review if they fall under certain circumstances, so that they don’t get stuck with severe consequences if they’re not capable of meeting the appeal deadline due to the prohibition.

“It’s a significant problem because a seven day time limit is very difficult for people to meet. Particularly when you take away their ability to meet the time limit when you take away the things that get people to ICBC to file the application for review, like their vehicles and their ability to drive.”

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“The law should be flexible enough to recognize that and to accommodate those individuals all sorts of other timelines and limitation periods we have in law can be extended in certain circumstances; the time to file an appeal, you can apply for an extension of that, you see people filing appeals years after their convictions.”

The Ministry of Public Safety has not yet responded to a request for comment.