The controversy over a Nova Scotia man losing his personalized licence plate shows no signs of abating as the man’s Alberta-based son said his dad is now planning to take the Nova Scotia government to court over the matter.
In January, Dartmouth, N.S. resident Lorne Grabher had his licence plate cancelled by the Nova Scotia government after his personalized plate – bearing his last name, GRABHER – prompted a complaint to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles.
Grabher said the plate, which once belonged to his father, is meant to honour his family’s unique last name and is not a call for sexual aggression.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia nixes license plate bearing man’s surname ‘Grabher’
His case has since stirred debate across the country over whether the government has the right to deny someone a personalized licence plate bearing their own name or whether Grabher should have known better, given the plate’s potential connotations.
Since Grabher still doesn’t have his plate back, his son – who lives in Edmonton – said his dad now plans to take a new course of action.
“He’s going to pursue legal action against the registry of motor vehicles and the government of Nova Scotia,” Troy Grabher told Global News Tuesday night, adding his father has retained a lawyer to handle his case. “He has signed over the documents to pursue the issue.
“I think he’s more or less looking just to get his plate back and to pretty much let the government know that this is something we’re not going to let go – he never wanted it to come to this.”
Troy, who also has a GRABHER licence plate in Alberta, said he does not know if his father plans to seek financial damages.
READ MORE: Alberta man upset over father’s loss of ‘GRABHER’ licence plate
Watch below: On March 26, 2017, Shallima Maharaj filed this report after a Nova Scotia man’s licence plate was cancelled after someone complained it was offensive.
“He never thought any of this would become as large as it’s become but now he’s feeling extremely overwhelmed,” Troy said. “My father’s not a young man. He’s getting some anxiety issues due to the fact it’s a constant thing now. His phone rings off the hook.”
Troy said he is hopeful his father gets his plate back and that he hopes his father wins his legal battle as has happened for others in their fight to keep their plates.
“The only one that I’m aware of is the lawyer in New Brunswick – he had the plate DUI DR – he took the New Brunswick government to court and he won his case.”
When Troy moved to Alberta, he obtained his own personalized licence plate bearing the family name. He and his father will remain vigilant in their efforts to keep the plate even if some don’t agree with their point of view, he said.
“Out here… I’m getting the odd messages from people, you know, ‘Just get over it.’ We’re not going to get over it. It’s part of our name, it’s part of our history and we’re proud of it.”
-With files from Shallima Maharaj and The Canadian Press
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