CASE LAW - R v Zhang

The case of R v Zhang is an appeal in Supreme Court for three convictions in traffic court arising out of the provision of unlicensed passenger transportation services. Haiya Zhang was driving for Udi, a ride hailing service similar to Uber. He was not licensed under the Passenger Transportation Act, did not have the appropriate class of driver's licence and the vehicle he was using did not have a valid inspection certificate.

The matter arose from an operation where RCMP investigators used the Udi app to arrange a ride and then checked the drivers that showed up to provide the service to insure that they were in compliance with the law.

Mr. Zhang was convicted on all three counts in traffic court and appealed the convictions to the Supreme Court. He told Justice Holmes that he was not picking up passengers, merely transporting things like documents and food for hire. As no money changes hands, it could not be shown that he was operating a passenger service for hire.

Mr. Zhang was not successful in his appeal.