Background
The defendant was charged under section 55(1) of the Manitoba Highway Traffic Act which prohibited driving “on a highway without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other persons using the highway”. The defendant challenged the law, claiming that it was beyond the power of the province because the federal government had “occupied the field” with a similar criminal provision in section 221 of the Criminal Code of Canada, which prohibited driving with "wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of other persons."
The issue before the Court was whether provincial laws relating to negligence with penal consequences would necessarily be a criminal law and thus encroach on federal jurisdiction.
Read more about this topic: O'Grady V. Sparling
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