HALIFAX — The Nova Scotia government has to reimburse a retiree for a court skirmish over a report suggesting a licence plate bearing his last name supports sexual violence against women.
Lorne Grabher has been trying to reinstate his personalized licence plate since it was revoked in 2016 by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles following an anonymous complaint about the plate.
In February, Grabher's lawyer fought to strike a Crown report by a McGill University professor linking the plate text — GRABHER — to derogatory comments about women made by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Grabher was awarded $750 in court costs in a decision released this week, but he won't actually be getting a cheque.
The money will offset the costs — also $750 — that Grabher had been ordered to pay after the Crown succeeded in getting portions of his affidavit struck earlier this year.
Nova Scotia Supreme Court Justice Pierre Muise said the same costs award "will do justice between the parties."
Grabher's trial will resume in early September, where he will make constitutional arguments against the registrar's regulations and its decision to revoke the plate.
