[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/highway-no-longer-takes-toll-on-bankruptcy\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/highway-no-longer-takes-toll-on-bankruptcy\/","headline":"Highway No Longer Takes Toll on Bankruptcy","name":"Highway No Longer Takes Toll on Bankruptcy","description":"The operators of Ontario\u2019s Highway 407 Express Toll Route (ETR) can \u00a0no longer arrange for vehicle permits to be withheld from bankrupt drivers, according to a recent Ontario\u2019s Court of Appeal ruling. A January 2nd\u00a0Toronto Star\u00a0article\u00a0states,\u00a0\u201cA recent series of court battles have attempted to resolve a key question that pits federal legislation against provincial: if […]","datePublished":"2014-06-16","dateModified":"2023-04-13","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"admin","url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/author\/admin\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9802e0bea345b33afa85a53646482da09b2d7944429d88b59778b5d3e1c3dd14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9802e0bea345b33afa85a53646482da09b2d7944429d88b59778b5d3e1c3dd14?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Richard Killen and Associates","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/landscape-logo-12345-for-web.png","url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/landscape-logo-12345-for-web.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Highway407crest.png","url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Highway407crest.png","height":313,"width":706},"url":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/highway-no-longer-takes-toll-on-bankruptcy\/","about":["Bankruptcy","Debt"],"wordCount":361,"keywords":["407etr","Bankruptcy","bankruptcy insolvency act","bia","driver licence","highway 407","ontario court of appeal"],"articleBody":"The operators of Ontario\u2019s Highway 407 Express Toll Route (ETR) can \u00a0no longer arrange for vehicle permits to be withheld from bankrupt drivers, according to a recent Ontario\u2019s Court of Appeal ruling.A January 2nd\u00a0Toronto Star\u00a0article\u00a0states,\u00a0\u201cA recent series of court battles have attempted to resolve a key question that pits federal legislation against provincial: if a driver doesn\u2019t pay the 407ETR toll, should the province take away their licence?\u201dThe provincial Highway 407 Act dictated that the answer was yes. If the drivers didn\u2019t take care of their tolls then the highway company could contact the province, which would refuse to issue vehicle permits to the drivers until everything was paid up.This would include people who were undergoing bankruptcy and sometimes owed tens of thousands of dollars to the toll highway. Feeling that this violated the \u201cfresh start\u201d principle of the Bankruptcy Insolvency Act (BIA), lawyers launched a class action suit on behalf of \u00a0insolvent drivers \u00a0denied vehicle licences despite being declared bankrupt.\u201cAs a trustee we had to tell people that though their future discharge would legally erase the debt, they would probably still have to pay the 407ETR debt or at least make a settlement with them if they wanted to license their car,\u201d explains Richard Killen, president and trustee with Richard Killen & Associates. \u201cThere was nothing illegal about the 407ETR accepting a \u2018voluntary\u2019 payment from a discharged bankrupt. The Ministry of Transportation would then receive a notice from the 407ETR that the debt was paid and a licence would be issued. The circular argument made any effort to solve the problem an exercise in futility. The MOT simply shrugged and tossed the ball over to the 407ETR.\u201dHe adds, \u201cIt took years for the Federal Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy to involve itself, and even that was only after a bankrupt pushed this challenge through the lower courts. This appellate decision pretty well puts to rest the whole question. Now we are in a position to tell people when they consult us that their debt to the 407ETR is as dischargeable as their debt to Visa. This is news.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Highway No Longer Takes Toll on Bankruptcy","item":"https:\/\/rkillen.ca\/highway-no-longer-takes-toll-on-bankruptcy\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]