Canada may be a land of opportunity, but these days you had better not be insensitive. As a matter of fact, your family name better not be insensitive either. Nova Scotia retiree Lorne Grabher (so sorry about the insensitive name) had his personalized license plate pulled because a woman saw it and complained to the government. Grabher was having a coffee at Tim Hortons in December when friends saw the woman taking a picture of the plate. He’s used to his name grabbing a certain amount of attention, so he didn’t think anything of it. A December 9, 2016 letter from Nova Scotia Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal informed him he couldn’t keep the plate “GRABHER” as someone had complained.
‘SOCIALLY UNACCEPTABLE”
“Please be advised that the Office of the Registrar of Motor Vehicles has received a complaint about your personalized plate GRABHER. While I recognize this plate was issued as your last name, the public cannot be expected to know this and can misinterpret it as a socially unacceptable slogan,” wrote Janice Harland, registrar of motor vehicles and director of road safety for the province. So there it is. If someone interprets what you do as socially unacceptable the government will step in. Mr. Grabher bought the plate as a surprise for his father’s recreational vehicle on his 65th birthday. On his father’s death in 1991, the plate passed to Lorne’s son, Troy. When Troy went to Alberta three years ago, he handed it to his dad – and the province got his signed permission to let Lorne put it on his vehicle. The younger Grabher’s Alberta GRABHER plate remains on the road in the Wild Rose province.
COME BY CHANCE?
According to the Halifax Chronicle Herald, Grabher’s first call to the Motor Vehicle Branch didn’t get much sympathy. “I told him Newfoundland has names of public places like Come By Chance and Dildo. His response to me was ‘you’re in Nova Scotia, go by our rules,’” Grabher said. After Grabher sent a letter of complaint, a follow-up expressed a trace of sympathy. “I understand this is a unique family name that you are celebrating however, we must use our established guidelines for all personalized plates and our decision to cancel this plate will be upheld,” Harland wrote.
