Acts and Regulations

98-94 - General

Full text
Current to 1 January 2024
NEW BRUNSWICK
REGULATION 98-94
under the
New Brunswick
Highway Corporation Act
(O.C. 98-742)
Filed December 14, 1998
Under section 38 of the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act, the Lieutenant-Governor in Council makes the following Regulation:
Citation
1This Regulation may be cited as the General Regulation - New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act.
Definitions
2In this Regulation
“Act” means the New Brunswick Highway Corporation Act;(loi)
“highway operator” means the MRDC Operations Corporation and includes any assigns to whom it has assigned its rights, its obligations, or both, under this Regulation or under the Suspensions in Relation to Tolls Regulation - Motor Vehicle Act;(exploitant de route)
“Registrar” means the Registrar of Motor Vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Act;(registraire)
“transponder” means a transmitter or a transmitter and receiver unit designed to be mounted in a vehicle for the purpose of communicating with equipment that is mounted by a highway operator near, in, on, over or under the highway in order to identify a toll account.(transpondeur)
Application of Regulation
3This Regulation applies only to the Fredericton - Moncton Highway, being the highway to extend or extending for a distance of approximately one hundred and ninety-five kilometres from Jewetts Cove, located in Prince William Parish, York County, to Magnetic Hill, located in Moncton Parish, Westmorland County.
Collection of tolls
4(1)If a person gains access to or passes over a toll highway by vehicle or operates a vehicle on a toll highway without paying the applicable toll and, in the process, is given permission by the highway operator to pay the unpaid toll within a specified subsequent period, the person shall pay the toll within that specified period in accordance with any instructions given with the permission.
4(2)A highway operator may serve a first notice of unpaid toll, on a form provided by the highway operator,
(a) on the registered owner of a vehicle referred to in subsection (1), if the unpaid toll is not paid within the specified period,
(b) on the registered owner of a vehicle, on a person to whom a transponder has been issued, or both, if the unpaid toll is payable under an agreement made between the highway operator and the registered owner or other person, or
(c) on any other registered owner of a vehicle, any person who is or is deemed to be the operator of a vehicle or any other person, who has not paid an applicable toll in violation of the Act or this Regulation or in violation of an agreement made between the highway operator and the registered owner or person.
4(3)A first notice of unpaid toll shall contain the following:
(a) the amount of the unpaid toll;
(b) the amount of the first administrative fee payable;
(c) the amount of any interest respecting the unpaid toll payable to the highway operator under an agreement made between any person and the highway operator;
(d) the date and time when, and the location where, the toll originally was not paid;
(e) the deadline for, and manner of, payment of the toll, administrative fee and any interest;
(f) a description of the procedure for making an appeal respecting the toll, and the grounds of appeal; and
(g) any other information that the highway operator considers appropriate.
4(4)The amount of the first administrative fee payable under subsection (3) is five dollars.
4(5)The deadline to be set out under paragraph (3)(e) shall be at least thirty days after the highway operator personally serves or mails the notice.
4(6)A person served with a first notice of unpaid toll shall, on or before the deadline, pay all the amounts that the person is directed to pay in the notice.
4(7)If a person or persons have been served with a first notice of unpaid toll and do not pay the unpaid toll, the first administrative fee and any interest, and if no appeal has been commenced, on or before the deadline, the highway operator may serve the person or persons with a second notice of unpaid toll on a form provided by the highway operator.
4(8)A second notice of unpaid toll shall contain the following:
(a) the amount of the unpaid toll;
(b) the amount of the second administrative fee payable;
(c) the amount of any interest respecting the unpaid toll payable to the highway operator under an agreement made between any person and the highway operator;
(d) the date and time when, and the location where, the toll originally was not paid;
(e) the deadline for, and manner of, payment of the toll, administrative fee and any interest;
(f) a description of the procedure for making an appeal respecting the toll, and the grounds of appeal;
(g) notice that steps may be taken to have the registration of one or more vehicles owned by the registered owner suspended if the unpaid toll, administrative fee or any interest is not paid as directed in the notice; and
(h) any other information that the highway operator considers appropriate.
4(9)The amount of the second administrative fee payable under subsection (8) is ten dollars.
4(10)The deadline to be set out under paragraph (8)(e) shall be at least fifteen days after the highway operator personally serves or mails the notice.
4(11)A person served with a second notice of unpaid toll shall, on or before the deadline, pay all the amounts that the person is directed to pay in the notice.
4(12)If a second notice of unpaid toll has been served and any portion of the unpaid toll, the second administrative fee or any interest has not been paid on or before the deadline, the highway operator
(a) may notify the Registrar to that effect, and
(b) if full payment is made after notice is given to the Registrar, shall notify the Registrar of the payment.
Appeals
5(1)The grounds on which a person may make an appeal are
(a) that the amount of the toll claimed by the highway operator in a notice of unpaid toll is not the correct amount,
(b) that the highway operator is not entitled to all or any portion of the interest claimed by the highway operator in a notice of unpaid toll,
(c) that a transponder used by the vehicle involved in the appeal, or other equipment used in determining the amount of toll owing, was not functioning properly,
(d) that the vehicle involved in the appeal was being used at the time of the violation without the consent of the registered owner,
(e) that a transponder involved in the appeal was being used at the time of the violation without the consent of the person to whom the transponder was issued,
(f) that the appellant has been identified by the highway operator as the registered owner of the vehicle involved in the appeal but was not, at the time of the violation, the registered owner, or
(g) that the highway operator has incorrectly identified the vehicle or a transponder involved in the violation.
5(2)A person who has been served with a first notice of unpaid toll may not serve a notice of appeal on the Registrar after the deadline referred to in paragraph 4(3)(e), unless the person has been served with a second notice of unpaid toll.
5(3)A person who has been served with a second notice of unpaid toll may not serve a notice of appeal on the Registrar after the deadline referred to in paragraph 4(8)(e).
5(4)Upon receipt of a notice of appeal, the Registrar may conduct an appeal in accordance with this section.
5(5)A notice of appeal shall be on a form provided by the Registrar.
5(6)Within ten days after receiving a notice of appeal, the Registrar shall serve a copy on the highway operator.
5(7)Within fifteen days after being served with the copy of the notice of appeal, the highway operator may serve a written submission on the Registrar and on the appellant.
5(8)The Registrar may make the rules of procedure for conducting a hearing and may, in the Registrar’s discretion, decide whether an appeal is to proceed by way of written submissions, a hearing, or both.
5(9)Unless permitted by the Registrar in the Registrar’s discretion, no person is, of right, entitled to a hearing.
5(10)The Registrar, if deciding to proceed with an appeal by way of a hearing, shall serve on the highway operator and the appellant a notice of hearing at least twenty days before the date of the hearing.
5(11)A notice of hearing shall be on a form provided by the Registrar.
5(12)The Registrar shall send to the highway operator and the appellant a written decision, with reasons, within thirty days
(a) after completion of a hearing, if a hearing is held, or
(b) after the expiry of the deadline for service of a written submission by the highway operator under subsection (7), if a hearing is not held.
5(13)The Registrar may decide that the appellant owes the highway operator all, none or any portion of the unpaid toll, of any administrative fee or of any interest.
5(14)If the Registrar decides that an appellant owes the highway operator all or any portion of the unpaid toll or of any administrative fee or of any interest, the appellant shall pay it to the highway operator within ten days after being served with the decision.
5(15)The decision of the Registrar is final and is not subject to appeal.
Service
6(1)Any notice or other document to be served on a person under this Regulation may be served by personal service or by being deposited in the mail in an envelope with postage prepaid, addressed to the person at the person’s address as shown by the records of the Registrar.
6(2)A notice or other document referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be served upon the expiration of five days after the deposit of the notice or other document in the mail.
6(3)Proof of service in either manner provided for in subsection (1) may be made by a certificate or an affidavit purporting to be signed by any officer or employee of the highway operator, naming the person on whom service was made and specifying the time, place and manner of the service.
6(4)A document that purports to be a certificate or affidavit of an officer or employee of the highway operator to the effect the service was made in the manner provided for under subsection (1)
(a) shall be admissible in evidence without proof of the signature, and
(b) is, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, proof that the person named in the certificate or affidavit was served with the notice or document referred to in the certificate or affidavit.
6(5)In any prosecution for an offence under the Act or this Regulation, when proof of service is made as provided for under subsection (3), the burden of proving that a person is not the person named or referred to in the certificate or affidavit shall be upon the person charged.
Evidence
7Photographic or electronic evidence collected by a highway operator in relation to non-payment of a toll payable for use of a toll highway by a person or vehicle may be introduced as evidence or used by the Province, the Corporation, the New Brunswick (F-M) Project Company Inc. or the highway operator before the Registrar or in any court, tribunal or other body, as proof in the absence of evidence to the contrary of the use of the toll highway by the person or vehicle without payment of the toll.
Disclosure of information
8(1)The information that the Registrar may disclose to the Corporation, the New Brunswick (F-M) Project Company Inc., the highway operator or another delegate or sub-delegate of a project company under subsection 9(8) of the Act consists of the name and address of the registered owner or owners of any vehicle bearing a registration plate with a number provided to the Registrar by the highway operator.
8(2)Names and addresses that may be disclosed by the Registrar under subsection (1) may include those of persons who are registered as owners of vehicles in another jurisdiction, if the Registrar has obtained the names and addresses under a reciprocal agreement that has been made between the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure and the government of another jurisdiction or a person or agency in another jurisdiction under subsection 72.1(2) of the Motor Vehicle Act, authorizing the disclosure by the Registrar for the purposes of the enforcement of the collection of tolls or interest, fees or charges in relation to tolls.
2010, c.31, s.97
Construction of Regulation
9Nothing in this section shall be construed by any court, tribunal, other body or person as limiting in any way any rights to the collection of any tolls or to the collection of any interest, fees or charges in relation to tolls, or any rights of enforcement, that may be available to the Province or any person under the Act.
Commencement
10This Regulation comes into force on January 4, 1999.
N.B. This Regulation is consolidated to December 17, 2010.