Appeal in Grabher licence plate case begins Tuesday

The appeal of a Nova Scotia man fighting the registry of motor vehicles' decision to revoke his personalized licence plate bearing his last name will be heard Tuesday in the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.

Lorne Wayne Grabher had an existing plate with his name that he had used without incident for 27 years until someone complained anonymously to the registry in December 2016.

That led to the registry not renewing the plate in January 2017, saying in a letter to Grabher that the plate could be “misinterpreted” as a “socially unacceptable slogan.”

The complaint was received within a couple of months of the release of a recording of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump saying that as star he could do anything to women, including “grab 'em by (their genitals).”

Grabher took the matter to the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, which ruled in January of last year that revoking the plate didn't violate Grabher's free expression or equality rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Grabher is arguing that Justice Darlene Jamieson's was wrong in her ruling that freedom of expression under the Charter doesn't apply to licence plates.

Jamieson said in her ruling that the plate, without context, could be interpreted as promoting sexualized violence.

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has been granted intervenor status in this matter.

The hearing before justices, Duncan Beveridge, Joel Fichaud and Cindy Bourgeois will be livestreamed on the Courts of Nova Scotia website.

Lorne Wayne Grabher shows the licence plate that he had used without incident for 27 years until someone complained anonymously to the registry of motor vehicles in December 2016. That led to the registry not renewing the plate in January 2017.