IN THE PROVINCIAL COURT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

[1]           This case is another that illustrates a difficulty presented by the Motor Vehicle Act for enforcement by peace officers of students who drive in British Columbia with a driver’s licence issued in their home country.

[2]           I first addressed this issue in R. v. Al Anazi, 2015 BCPC 253.

[3]            Mr. Alfarraj was charged with failing to produce his driver’s licence for inspection on demand of a peace officer under section 33(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act.

[4]           The facts are not in dispute. 

[5]           Cst Hildred of the Saanich Police Department, and seconded to the Capital Regional District Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU), stopped Mr. Alfarraj for speeding on May 21 2015 in the 1400 block of McKenzie Avenue in Saanich. 

[6]           Cst Hildred asked Mr. Alfarraj to produce his driver’s licence and Mr. Alfarraj produced a driver’s licence issued by the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  The driver’s licence had a colour photo on it of Mr. Alfarraj and its contents were partly in English and partly in Arabic.

[7]           Printed in English on the licence was the issuing jurisdiction, the words “Driving Licence”, Mr. Alfarraj’s full name, driver’s licence number, expiry date, his date of birth and his blood type.

[8]           Cst Hildred was satisfied that Mr. Alfarraj met all of the conditions of section 34(1.1)(c) of the Motor Vehicle Act exempting him from the requirement to hold a BC driver’s licence as a full time student at a listed educational institution and not ordinarily resident in British Columbia.

[9]           In fact, from the evidence given in Al Anazi referred to above, ICBC will not issue a BC driver’s licence to a person exempt under section 34(1.1)(c).  I understand it is because such a person is not ordinarily resident in British Columbia.

[10]        Mr. Alfarraj did not produce to Cst Hildred a certified translation of the driver’s licence.

[11]        A certified translation was produced in evidence in Court.

[12]        The only information that translation contained in addition to what is already in English on the Saudi driver’s licence is:

[13]        Cst Hildred takes the position the type of licence and any restrictions is necessary information he needs to assess whether Mr. Alfarraj was driving an appropriate vehicle for that licence and if he had any restrictions that might bar him from driving.

[14]        As Cst Hildred could not access that information anywhere else at roadside, he required that translation to make that assessment.

[15]        His position is that the translation was part of the driver’s licence Mr. Alfarraj was required to produce under section 33(1).

[16]        That is the sole argument of the Crown.

[17]        Although as I said in Al Anazi, the system set out in the Motor Vehicle Act is seriously wanting for assisting police officers who enforce section 34(1.1)(c) in determining if the driver’s licence issued by the “jurisdiction where the driver was most recently ordinarily resident” is” validly issued and subsisting”.

[18]        The Act does not require a translation of the driver’s licence.

[19]        Mr. Alfarraj produced precisely what section 33(1) requires him to produce.

[20]        Although section 24(2) of the Act makes it an offence to drive without a subsisting driver’s licence issued to him or her under this Act, I can only infer the exemptions provided in section 34 override that requirement and the associated offence.

[21]        As in Al Anazi, I heard evidence from Abdullah Almuthaq, a business administration student at Royal Roads University in Victoria.  He has been advocating on behalf of Saudi students caught in this tangle created by the Motor Vehicle Act.

[22]        He advises that ICBC has in its system a copy of each type of driving licence issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and each “class” has a different colour and can be associated to the classes of BC driver’s licence.

[23]        Cst Hildred says that is not accessible by him or other police officers at roadside.

[24]        As I said in Al Anazi in respect of section 24, all this suggests that the Government or ICBC needs to find a better system for an enforcement officer to have sufficient tools at roadside to satisfy the officer that the foreign driver’s licence meets the requirements to drive the vehicle being driven and that it is a subsisting driver’s licence.

[25]        Mr. Alfarraj produced to Cst Hildred the driver’s licence the Motor Vehicle Act requires him to produce and was not required under the Act to produce an English translation of that licence.

[26]        I therefore find Mr. Alfarraj not guilty of the charge.