“Hta 144(9) Correct Charge?”

Hi there,

I was going S/B on Victoria Park Ave. and turned right onto Sloane Ave. when I was flagged down by a cop at around 8:10am. There was a pickup truck in front of me who also got pulled over as there were 2 cops stationed there. I did not see the No Right Turn signs from Mon - Fri 7am - 9am. It was a new route I was trying out to get to work and a series of unfortunate events led to this ticket:

1. It was drizzling.

2. Searching for new route so very focused on finding the correct street sign (i.e. "Sloane Ave.") to turn.

3. There was an exclusive bus/right turn lane forking at right (i.e. adding a lane) leading me to assume it was a valid turn.

4. There was another vehicle in front of me making the same turn.

5. I was also focused on other moving vehicles around me as well as any pedestrians waiting at the bus stop at that corner.

6. I live in the Etobicoke area so never encountered or knew the existence of No Right Turn sign restriction sign onto a normal 2 way street.

How do I confirm if the sign is municipal or provincial? If it is municipal, shouldn't the officer only charge me under the municipal by-law and not the HTA?

There were no signal traffic lights at that intersection. I read somewhere that being charged under HTA 144(9) is for violations at signal traffic light intersections - can anyone confirm this? Would this be a successful defence - i.e. I was charged under the incorrect HTA? Can the prosecutor simply amend the charge at time of trial?

I have already requested for 2 disclosures that went unanswered, so far (2 months). The prosecutor tend to mail out notice to pick-up disclosures last minute (i.e. gives you 1 week before trial date). Does anyone know if this is considered improper? What is the legal term for it? What if I was not available to pick-up given the short notice? Would I break my original commitments just to pick-up the belated disclosure, which still does not leave me enough time to prepare my case? Or, do not pick-up the disclosure and tell the JP that the prosecutor had over 2 1/2 months to prepare my requested disclosure and they were only leaving me 1 - 2 weeks to go over the disclosure and prepare my case?

I just want to be more prepared in case my motion for lack of disclosures and infringement of my right for a timely trial falls through.

Thanks in advance for any replies that may help me deal with this ticket in trial.

fedup wrote:How do I confirm if the sign is municipal or provincial? If it is municipal, shouldn't the officer only charge me under the municipal by-law and not the HTA?

There's no such distinction. Issuance of a bylaw ticket instead of HTA is simply a matter of discretion on the officer's part.

fedup wrote:There were no signal traffic lights at that intersection. I read somewhere that being charged under HTA 144(9) is for violations at signal traffic light intersections - can anyone confirm this? Would this be a successful defence - i.e. I was charged under the incorrect HTA? Can the prosecutor simply amend the charge at time of trial?

Yes, the charge can be amended at trial if the Crown notices the error. But I'm not sure I agree the section is incorrect.