The Tribunal does not have access to Ministry of Transportation records.

Until a driver appeals a decision from the Ministry of Transport to suspend or downgrade your licence, the Tribunal knows nothing about you, your driver’s licence, or any medical information the Ministry may have in their files.

After you appeal, the Licence Appeal Tribunal will have the documents you send and a copy of the documents the Ministry sends in response to your appeal.

In Ontario, the law requires doctors to send the Ministry of Transportation a report naming any patient who has a medical condition that may make it dangerous for the patient to operate a motor vehicle.

If the Ministry of Transportation receives such a report about you and suspends or downgraded your licence, they will have sent you a notice or letter informing you of the suspension or downgrade. It is up to the driver to prove to the Ministry of Transportation that they are medically fit to safety operate a motor vehicle.

Usually the Ministry will require a medical report from your doctor saying that the issues regarding your health have past and that you are medically fit to drive.

The doctor must forward the information to the Ministry for their review.  Where the Ministry does not respond, takes an extended period of time or the driver wishes appeal the decision the driver may appeal

This letter may say that you will get your licence back after you send the Ministry a satisfactory medical report. It also may say that you could get your licence back after a period of symptom-free time has passed.

The Ministry of Transportation’s Medical Review Section provides information about what they do and what they consider when deciding whether or not a driver’s licence should be suspended. This includes the basic medical standards all drivers must meet.

This also includes information about their Medical Advisory Committee and a link to the website of the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), which publishes a regularly updated report used by the Ministry of Transportation and consulted by the Tribunal, called “Medical Standards for Drivers – Determining Medical Fitness to Operate a Motor Vehicle.

In most cases, the best evidence will be reports from doctors or other medical professionals showing that you are medically fit to operate a motor vehicle.

When you appeal, it is actually the Ministry that is required to prove that your licence should remain suspended or downgraded. You should know that they have at least one report they can enter as evidence – this is the medical report which resulted in the suspension or downgrade of your licence.

To argue against the report in the Ministry’s files you may wish to file a medical report that makes different findings.

In an appeal, the Ministry is required to prove two things:

1. that you have either a mental, emotional, nervous or physical condition or disability, or an addiction to the use of alcohol or a drug; and,
2. that this condition, disability or addiction is likely to significantly interfere with your ability to drive safely.

The legal test for your appeal is all about the reported condition, disability or addiction, and how that affects your ability to drive a motor vehicle safely.

Your evidence must be relevant to that legal test. Other evidence, such as reasons why or how much you need your licence for work, will not help you in your appeal.  The appeal is all about is the driver medically fit to drive safety.

Unless you ask for a later date, the Tribunal will schedule a hearing to take place no later than 30 days after receiving your complete appeal.

Where you wish to file an appeal you must complete and submit an appeal application with payment.

The Tribunal will assign one or more members to hear the appeal. This will include a member who is a legally qualified medical practitioner. The Rules of Practice require that all the medical reports used for your appeal  must be forwarded to the to the Ministry of Transportation at least 20 days before the hearing.

As there is no deadline for appealing your suspension or downgrade, it may be better for you to compile all the reports you need before you file. If you send in reports less than 20 days before the scheduled hearing date, the Ministry may ask the Tribunal to adjourn the hearing to a later date, which could be weeks later than the first date set by the Tribunal.

If the Ministry of Transportation looks at new medical reports you send to support your appeal and reinstates your licence before the Tribunal hearing takes place, the Tribunal will cancel the hearing and close your file. Please note that the Tribunal will not refund your appeal filing fee.