Canada: Man continues legal fight to keep ‘GRABHER’ licence plate

Canada: Man continues legal fight to keep 'GRABHER' licence plate

A Nova Scotia man whose car licence plate is ‘GRABHER’ is appealing a court decision that condoned its revocation.

The plate was revoked from Lorne Grabher, 71, after a single complaint was made to the registrar of motor vehicles that it encouraged sexual violence against women.

Mr Grabher and his supporters, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), argue that the provincial government violated his freedom of expression when it revoked the plate and that a judge was wrong for not finding that suppressing Mr Grabher’s Austrian surname violated his right to equality.

In January this year, Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Darlene Jamieson ruled that revocation did not violate Mr Grabher’s rights.

She stated: “This decision is not about whether Mr Grabher’s surname is offensive – it is not.

“The primary function of a licence plate is not expression but is identification and regulation of vehicle ownership. A licence plate by its very nature is a private government space.”

Mr Grabher’s lawyers are asking the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal to reverse the decision.

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