A traffic stop in Chilliwack, B.C., earlier this month is garnering attention after it was uploaded online.
The driver can be heard saying in the video that his rights are being violated.
In the video, he calls himself a sovereign citizen, which is a group of people who believe they are immune to the government’s law and order.
The driver had been pulled over by police for driving without insurance and for having licence plates not issued by ICBC.
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However, Kyla Lee, a lawyer at Acumen Law in Vancouver, told Global News the idea that someone doesn’t have to follow the rules because they didn’t enter into a contract with the government, ICBC or the police is “absolutely legally wrong.”
“It has no foundation in any law anywhere in Canada,” she said.
Lee said if the case does go to court it still has to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and there are legitimate defences to different types of driving offences, but from what she saw in the video, there is no legitimate defence in this case.
“The origins of this is that people are taking phrases that are from very old statutes, very old pieces of legislation that were passed when Canada was first being formed as a country,” Lee added.
