Draft Bylaw for Pawnbrokers

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. - Prince George City Council has approved in principle a new  version of the Pawnbrokers and Second hand dealers bylaw.  The initial draft bylaw was rejected by Council earlier this year,  and the new document   addresses the  issues which caused a similar byaw in New Westminster to be struck down in court.

The court ruled

1. Local governments may require the collection, recording and transmission to the police of information about the second-hand goods and the manner in which they came into a dealer’s or pawnbroker’s possession;
2. Local governments may require the collection and recording, but not the transmission to the police, of contact information (name, address, and means of verifying identity) about sellers and pawners;
3. Local governments may not require the collection, recording or transmission of “additional information” about the sellers and pawners. (Additional information such as age, height, gender, etc.)

City staff believe the new draft bylaw reflects those rulings, and would stand the test in court.

Specifically, the new draft has the following revisions:

• The requirement to collect, record and transmit information regarding the vehicles used to transport second-hand goods has been struck from the bylaw;

• The requirement to collect and record personal contact information (names, addresses, and means of verifying identity) is maintained in the bylaw, but the requirement to transmit this same information to the police has been struck from the bylaw;

• The requirement to collect additional information from the seller or pawner (ex. Driver’s license number, height, weight, eye colour) has been struck from the bylaw; and

• Provisions authorizing the inspection and seizure of the second-hand dealers and pawnbrokers registry have been struck from the bylaw.

Even with the changes, the R.C.M.P. will still have the right to require information about the second-hand goods and the manner in which they came into a dealer’s or pawnbroker’s possession. Should police identify those items as potentially stolen, Police would most likely be able to obtain a warrant authorizing inspection and/or seizure of a dealer’s or pawnbroker’s registry and the goods themselves.

The draft also removes auctioneers from the list of those covered by the bylaw and takes large appliances, all-terrain vehicles and personal watercraft out of the definition of “second-hand property”.

The initial draft also called for goods to be on “hold” for a certain periods of time before being offered for sale.  Staff say that provision may not be legal, so that idea has been scrapped.

Since it has been so long since the initial round of public consultation, City staff want to go through the full consultation process again.  They figure that process will take up tp 3 months to complete.

Councillor Deborah Munoz says the  new draft has been watered down  so much that she fears deals will be made through the back door and the bylaw will do little to battle crime.

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