A review by the Halifax Regional Municipality into whether to permanently revoke the taxi licence of a Halifax taxi driver acquitted of sexual assault ended as a result of the licence expiring on Friday.
READ MORE: Halifax taxi driver acquitted of sex assault investigated for similar offence in 2012: warrant
In an email to Global News on Monday, Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) spokesperson Brendan Elliott said Bassam Al-Rawi’s licence had expired on Friday at 11:59 p.m. He said a taxi driver’s licence is valid for two years and if a driver does not apply for renewal, it expires.
Al-Rawi’s licence was originally suspended in May 2015, according to an HRM statement earlier this month. Three months later, his licence was reinstated by the appeals standing committee with conditions.
By September, he no longer had a licence to drive as Al-Rawi was unable to provide documentation that showed which company he would drive for – a requirement for all taxi drivers. Elliott said in the email that this deemed Al-Rawi’s licence as “non-operational” by HRM.
Al-Rawi was found not guilty earlier this month of sexual assault charges laid against him by Halifax police.
Following Al-Rawi’s acquittal by Judge Gregory Lenehan, that was first reported by Metro Halifax, Elliott told Global News that the city was conducting an internal investigation on whether his licence would be permanently revoked. He said it would include pulling evidence from the courts, reviewing court transcripts and making a final decision on whether Al-Rawi would be able to drive a taxi.
He said Monday that as Al-Rawi’s licence was expired, “there is no reason to conduct a review.”
READ MORE: Halifax investigates taxi licence process after driver acquitted of sex assault: ‘Women are scared’
Elliott said the documents gathered for the review, including court transcripts and “any other relevant information,” would be added to his file should he apply for to drive a taxi in the future.
“The taxi and limousine licensing office would then assess each application on its own merits with an eye on ensuring public safety,” Elliott said.
“If we deem an applicant to not be fit or proper to be behind the wheel of a taxi then we would not grant a licence to that individual.”
READ MORE: Crown appeals verdict in Halifax taxi sexual assault case
The Nova Scotia Crown announced last week it would file an appeal of the acquittal.
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