Reply #33: The View from Canada [View All]

A few years ago the Supreme Court in Canada ruled on a related question. The case involved someone who's license was revoked when he failed to pay a fine (or perhaps fines). In Canada, mobility rights are explicit in the Constitution (as well as protected in common law), and the court ruled that this included driving. Your driver's license can be revoked for a demonstrated lack of competence, but not for an administrative purpose, such as failing to pay fines.

My reading of this is that, in Canada, driving is a right. But, as with other rights, the state places limitations on that right where it impinges on the rights of others. (I.e., everyone's right of mobility is compromised when an incompetent driver is on the road.) I think that's a reasonable position.

By the way, there is also an argument that, under British common law, the requirement for a driver's license is a violation of a person's mobility rights. Obviously, that argument has never gained much traction. But it's interesting to speculate what would transpire if driver's licenses were ruled unconstitutional.