300 Dufferin Avenue P.O, Box 5035 London, ON NGA 4L9 IN THE MATTER OF the City of London Business Licensing By-Law L.-131-16, as amended; AND IN THE MATTER OF the City of London’s Hearing’s Officer By-law A.-6653-121, as amended; AND IN THE MATTER OF the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, c. S. 22, as amended. DECISION The Corporation of the City of London’s Hearings Officer, established pursuant to section 23.5 of the Municipal Act, 2001, held a hearing as follows: Appellant: Saeed Al-Hjow), DNA Towing and Recovery File No.: CLK-2022-L01-012 Hearing Date: February 2, 2023, at 2:30 p.m APPEARANCES: Parties Counsel/Agent Saeed Hassan Al-Hjowi, Appellant City of London Stephen Miller PURPOSE OF HEARING The purpose of the hearing was to consider the Appellant’s request for a hearing before the Hearings Officer as it relates to the following The decision of the Licence Manager to refuse an application for a licence for a Tow Truck and Impound Yard Storage business under By-law L.-131-16, Section 8.3 (a) and (g). This hearing was heard in accordance with the provisions of the City of London's Business Licensing By-law L.-136-16, as amended, the City of London's Hearing's Officer By-law A.-6653-121, as amended, and the Statutory Powers Procedure Act, RS.O. 1990, c. 8.22 DECISION Itis the decision of the Hearings Officer to dismiss the appeal and uphold the decision of the Licence Manager to refuse the appellant's applications for a licence for a Tow Truck and Impound Yard Storage business under the City's Business Licence By-law L-131-16. REASONS The reasons for my decision are as follows 1. | conducted a hearing on February 2, 2023. 2. | have fully considered the evidence provided by the following persons who testified at the hearing: Name/Title Party who called Witness. ‘Saeed Al-Hjow) ‘AppellantDNA Towing and Recovery DECISION CLK-2022-L01-012 Page 2 10. ‘Stephen Miller, Manager Parking Services _| City of London and Compliance Nicole Musicco, Coordinator, Licensing City of London Administration & Policy Constable Gregory Pearson, Trafic City of London Management Unit, London Police Service | have fully considered the documentary evidence filed at the hearing: Exhibit | Description Filed By No. 7 Certified copy of City of London Business __| City of London Licensing By-Law L.-131-16, as amended 2 Notice of Hearing, including material City of London provided with the appeal 3 Affidavit of Service City of London The hearing was open to the public. Ihave fully considered the submissions of the parties The appellant has applied for licences for a tow truck business and an impound yard storage business under the City of London's Business Licensing By-law L.- 136-16, as amended (the ‘Licencing By-law"). Those applications were refused on the basis of the applicant's criminal record, and this is an appeal from that decision Ms. Musicco gave thorough background evidence about the amendments in 2021 to the Licencing By-law to regulate and to require licences for towing businesses in the City, including impound yard storage businesses. There was an extensive consultation effort with the industry stakeholders, the London Police Service, as well as fire and EMS first responders. This was all in the context of a history of discreditable, frequently overly aggressive behaviour in the industry including excessive charging, poor customer relations and competitively crowding first responders at accident scenes. It is a pervasive problem in the Province and the Province may enter the regulatory field but has not yet. The City decided to proceed as the situation needed to be addressed in the interest of public health and safety and for consumer protection The City’s licence by-law regulatory system focuses on requiring that only those holding licences may conduct a tow truck business or impound storage yard business in the City and requiring licence holders to maintain records necessary to show compliance with the regulations, requiring that when operating the towing business it is only done under the licence holder's name, providing contact information for the public with conspicuous signage at impound storage yards, establishing maximum charges for towing and for storage, establishing a 200-metre stand-off distance from an accident scene and requiring that tow truck operators comply with the direction of police, fire, EMS and any other first responders on the scene of an accident. This is an imperfect synopsis of salient elements of the regulatory scheme. The tow truck licensing regulations also established an administrative monetary penalty system (“AMPS") that is available for enforcing the regulations. With respect to the Licence Manager's authority, section 8.3 of the Licencing By- law provides that the Licence Manager may refuse to issue a license, or may refuse to renew it, or may revoke or suspend a licence, or may impose a term or condition on a licence based on any of a number of enumerated groundsDNA Towing and Recovery DECISION CLK-2022-L01-012 Page 3 "1 12 13. 14. 15, 16. 17. ‘Amongst the grounds are the following: (a) the conduct of the Applicant or Licensee, or any partner, officer, director, employee or agent of the Applicant or Licensee, affords reasonable cause to believe that the Applicant or Licensee will not carry on or engage in the operation of the business in accordance with the law or with honesty or integrity; (b) an Applicant or Licensee is carrying on activities that are in contravention of this By-law; (e) an Applicant or Licensee does not meet, at any time, one or more of the requirements of this By-law or any conditions imposed on a licence; (f) an Applicant or Licensee is not in compliance with any federal, provincial law or City By-law, including this By-law; or (9) the Applicant or Licensee has been convicted of a criminal offence for which, in the opinion of the Licence Manager, it would not be in the interest of public safety to issue or maintain such a licence Mr. Miller referred to the applicant's criminal record from a period in 2018 when the appellant was convicted of a few offences involving fraud, break, enter and theft, resisting arrest and failing to comply with recognizance and probation conditions. Constable Pearson gave evidence of London Police occurrence reports from 2022, particularly an incident which occurred on July 2, 2022. The appellant was operating a tow truck for RMS Towing which was a licenced tow truck business. at the time. The appellant got into an argument with someone and the appellant has been criminally charged with assault with a weapon — the weapon is alleged to bea knife. The licence of RMS Towing has since been revoked for reasons in addition to this July 2, 2022 incident. The appellant acknowledged that he had behaved badly in that 2018 period of his life but says he has changed and grown out of what he described as childish behaviour. He says he wants a chance to build a better future and be accepted in society as a productive member. He provided a number of glowing reference letters speaking of how he has evolved in the intervening years and how well he does his tow truck work and how helpful he is when doing so. With respect to the July 2, 2022 incident and charges resulting, the appellant says there was no knife. He acknowledges that there was an argument but says that he never left the tow truck. The charges are still before the courts and it is not for me in this forum to comment other than to observe that there was an occurrence and that there was a resulting criminal charge that has not been finally disposed of. Persons like the appellant who have had a bad start and have made mistakes should be encouraged and assisted when they acknowledge their mistakes, when they change their ways and seek a second chance to rebuild a productive life contributing to the community, including creating employment for others. That said, | am concerned about the criminal record from 2018. These are not 20-year-old charges for possession of cannabis, they are just 4 years ago and include fraud and theft convictions which go to the question of honesty and integrity as referenced in clause 8.3(a) of the Licence By-law. At some point a criminal record becomes stale enough that it fades into the background; a formal federal pardon would be helpful in this connection, but not necessary. The length of time with a clean slate before a criminal record becomes background is a matter of judgement in each case. In part it relates to the nature of the offences and the extent to which they relate to the question of honesty and integrity in the context of the towing industry in London. Another part is what the person hasDNA Towing and Recovery DECISION CLK-2022-L01-012 Page 4 18. 19, 20. 2 22. 23. 24, done with their life since the most recent offences; that includes the sort of references which the appellant has produced, had this sort of discussion with Ms. Musicco and asked if there was some way that conditions could be added to a licence which would allow the licence to be issued but kept on a “short leash’ to be revoked forthwith in the event of criminal conviction. There was discussion of possible “short leash” conditions such as requiring, for a time, perhaps as much as a year, that the licence holder provide to the City a monthly criminal record check and something similar for Highway Traffic Act convictions. This was perhaps the beginning of a discussion Ms. Musicco will have with others responsible for business licences in the City, particularly those for the towing industry. Against this background, | am troubled about the appellant's time being associated with RMS Towing. There is the unresolved criminal charge from the July 2, 2022 occurrence but my concern is the influence the corporate culture and business practices at RMS Towing may have had on the appellant. The RMS Towing licences for its tow truck business and for its impound yard storage business have been revoked because RMS Towing was found not to be carrying on business with honesty or integrity and because RMS Towing had been carrying on activities in contravention of the Licencing By-law and was very likely to continue to do so. The appellant is now working for another licenced tow truck business operator and is doing so successfully. Hopefully the corporate culture and business practices to which he is now being exposed will balance and correct any bad habits he may have absorbed from RMS Towing. |. am also alive to the reality that the City is just beginning to bring the towing industry in London into the new licencing and regulatory regime. Coming from a place of little regulation, the towing industry is still learning about, coming to understand and becoming acclimatized to the City’s requirements. Some are adjusting and complying, and some are not; and it will take a little time for the City to weed out those who are not through the City's licencing authority. Perhaps the licencing system requires a little more towing industry experience before attempting to frame special “short leash” conditions for an otherwise deserving person with a recent criminal record history. | have come to the decision that the appellant is close to qualifying for licencing notwithstanding his criminal record from 2018 but, in my view, the licencing should be put off for at least a year. By January 2024, when licences for 2024 are processed, it will have been a full five years since the 2018 convictions; by then the criminal charges from the July 2, 2022 incident will be known; and, in the meantime, the City licencing authorities will have had some time to consider what appropriate “short leash’ conditions might be imposed. It will also give the appellant more time with his new employer to be exposed to more appropriate business practices than he encountered with RMS Towing. Perhaps, also, the towing industry in London needs a little time to accept the concept that “compliance with any federal, provincial law or City By-law, including this By-law”, to quote clause 8.3(f) of the Licencing By-law, is the norm and to recognize that the licencing of a person with a criminal record, even one that is long past, is the exception to the rule. This is not to say that the appellant will qualify in 2024 for the licences he seeks but it is an encouragement that he apply and a recommendation that the City licencing authorities give the application fair consideration according to the circumstances as they may appear at the time. In the meantime, | dismiss the appeal and uphold the decision of the Licence Manager to refuse the appellant's applications for a licence for a Tow Truck and Impound Yard Storage business under the City's Business Licence By-law L.- 131-16.DNA Towing and Recovery DECISION CLK-2022-L01-012 Page 5 aR) Andrew Wright, Herings Officer ISSUED at London on February 6, 2023 SENT TO the following by Canada Post Registered Mail: TO: Saeed Hassan Al-Hjowj AND BY EMAIL TO: Scott Mathers, Deputy City Manager, Planning and Economic Development City of London smathers@london.ca Orest Katolyk, Director, Municipal Compliance City of London okatolyk@london.ca Catherine DeForest, Manager, Client Services City of London cdeforest@london.ca Nicole Musicco, Coordinator, Municipal Compliance City of London nmusicco@london.ca Stephen Miller, Manager, Parking Services and Compliance City of London swmiller@london.ca Sean Steenbergen, Parking Coordinator City of London ssteenbe@london.ca