The appellant, a university, maintained parking spaces around campus and imposed parking fines pursuant to special statutory authority. The signs setting out the parking rates did not describe the fines other than to say "vehicles not displaying valid receipts are subject to ticketing." The Minister argued that the fines were consideration for a taxable supply (being the provision of parking services) and therefore were subject to GST or, in the alternative, that they were subject to GST under s. 182 on the basis of a breach of contract for those parking services.
C Miller J granted the university's appeal. The fines were pure fines rather than consideration for parking services. They were imposed pursuant to the university's mandate to conduct university business rather than a profit motive, and the obligation to pay was based on the university's statutory powers rather than contract. These two factors distinguished the present case from Imperial Parking. C Miller J stated (at para. 26):
I have found that the contractual terms of the contract between a non‑paying driver and Simon Fraser University do not provide for consideration for a parking spot, but an agreement by the non-paying driver to run the risk of having to pay a fine. There is not an intention to breach an agreement to pay for the taxable supply of parking; the agreement is not to pay consideration for the supply of the parking spot: the agreement is basically, if I get caught I pay a fine. I agree that seems a somewhat, dare I say it, "fine" distinction, but it does recognize the fine, in this case, is indeed just that, a fine, pure and simple, and if there is no term in the agreement for the taxable supply to a non-paying driver other than to be subjected to a fine, there is no breach that would invoke section 182 of the ETA.