“Medical Suspension Tests While Keeping Out Of Province Dl?”

Good day all,

Five years ago I was a very different and troubled individual and while I was studying at university, a doctor reported my name to the Ontario MTO for alcohol dependence. At the time the licence I held was out of province, and I graduated and moved away shortly after.

Through the years I have put this issue behind me, and while I am happy to have moved on with my life, I know that an administrative burden in another province lurks in the distance. I would really love to be able to address the situation, however giving up my licence at the moment is out of the question.

What I am wondering is if there is any way for me to take the blood tests from my current province and go through the same one year process without having to first transfer my licence to Ontario? I realize thats a stretch and its probably not going to happen, but thats what forums are for, I thought Id see if anyone has heard of this happening before.

Also, and Ill need a shower after I type this paragraph, but Im very nervous about calling anyone from the MTO to ask about this and sharing details about who I am and what province I am living in now. This is, of course, because I am assuming once they have this information my "home province MTO" will be notified and the suspension notice will somehow be transferred. Is this possible? Or is the medical suspension only tied to Ontario? Im slowly gaining more confidence that my out of province licence would be safe if I started making phone calls, but Im still terrified of the unknowns. My doctor has assured me he would do everything in his power to reverse the paperwork if such a scenario arose.

Any insights or tips would be greatly appreciated. Or if this post just infuriates you and you just want to call me a name thats okay too, I get it.

I thought a medical suspension was only in effect while the medical condition existed. Wouldn't your doctor be able to provide something that would have it rescinded ?

The medical condition certainly no longer exists and I would be able to provide supporting documentation from two very respected medical professionals who know me very well. If that's an option it would be a huge weight off my shoulders, but again, I am scared to make that phone call and get lured into getting my licence suspended.

I suspect your Ontario licence is already suspended based on the letter that was provided initially. I don't think you have anything to lose.......although I'm anything but an MTO licence suspension expert !

If I understand correctly, it sounds like you're currently driving in Alberta and your Alberta license had previously been suspended while driving in Ontario? Alberta has no idea about the suspension and your Alberta license is currently valid?

Medical suspensions are administrative suspensions. They are not convictions. Once you're cleared by a doctor and your case is reviewed, there's nothing stopping you from getting your license back and being cleared of the suspension. In Ontario, it will stay on your abstract but insurance providers are regulated on when they can and cannot use it against you. It doesn't look like that's been an issue for your Alberta license.

Yes, there are reciprocal agreements between provinces. I couldn't give you any clear answers regarding your situation. Not everything is covered in these agreements obviously. If Alberta doesn't have a similar program with doctors, it's probably not going to be in any agreement as there's no equivalent. I don't know how they'd treat the suspension aspect of it though. Maybe that's why you're driving in Alberta with no issues. Maybe someone else could give you a better answer.

You should probably avoid driving in Ontario though. You have no valid license here, they'll know you're suspended, and you'll be charged accordingly.

Yes, thats pretty much the situation. I am currently driving with a valid provincial licence which has remained valid since 2011 when the physician informed me of his decision. My home province and my insurance provider are certainly unaware since my rates have steadily decreased each year since.

Ill have to familiarize myself with those regulations on insurance providers. My appropriate fear with this is by attempting to do the right thing and rectify the situation Im just going to open up a giant can of worms and end up regretting it.

Also true, my province does not have mandatory reporting, so thats an interesting theory.

You might want to consider ordering a copy of your Ontario driving record

If I read correctly, anyone can get someone's driving record. Get a friend to do it for you.

There you go. Twelve bucks and fifteen minutes and you'll have your answer.

Wow that's an excellent source, thank you for pointing that out to me! I'll have to figure out a plan for the form and mailing address, I want to read that report asap.

Although, as a side note...anyone can pay $12.00 and be given the owner information of any licence plate? That seems dangerous, but perhaps I'm misinterpreting that part of the form.

Vehicle abstracts do not include the name or address of the registered owner unless the owner is the one applying for the document.