The full text of the ebike policy for N.B. as obtained via FreefomOfInformationActRequest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_bicycle_laws#New_Brunswick
To be allowed on the road it needs wheel rims larger than 9 inches, have a headlight for night, a seat at least 27 inches off the ground.
New Brunswick’s Policy on Electric Motor Driven Cycles and Electric Bicycles
The Registrar will permit an electric motor driven cycle to be registered if it meets Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (CMVSS) as a Limited Speed Motorcycle, or Scooter as is done with gas powered motor driven cycles. If the vehicle was manufactured after 1988 it will bear a compliance label stating that it meets these standards. The operator will be subject to all the requirements placed on operators of motor driven cycles.
If the vehicle is able to powered by human force and has a motor 500W or less, and the motor is not capable of assisting when the vehicle is traveling at a speed greater than 32 km/h then it can be considered a bicycle and all the requirements placed on bicyclists are applicable.
It is important to note that if a vehicle has an electric motor greater than 500 watts and is capable of powering the vehicle when traveling at a speed greater than 32 km/h and it does not have a CMVSS compliance label it cannot be registered unless the owner can prove, by having the vehicle certified by an engineer, that it is safe for operation on NB highways. Also, not all vehicles are suitable for operation on NB highways and it could be that the vehicle in question may not be a motor driven cycle or a bicycle and cannot be operated on the highway at all.
Power Assisted Bicycle Label:
Manufacturers of e-bikes must permanently affix a label, in a conspicuous location, stating in both official languages that the vehicle is a power-assisted bicycle as defined in the regulations under the federal Motor Vehicle Safety Act. Homemade e-bikes will not have this label.
NOTE 1: The previous version of the policy had a section on it needing to "look like a bike" or a "bike style frame" but never defined what those were. That has been dropped and is no longer part of the new policy.
NOTE 2: The top speed of the bike if propelled by human power is the posted speed limit, but the motor is only allowed to get you up to and keep you at 32 km/hr. If the posted limit is under 32 then the posted limit is the limit allowed.
NOTE 3: There is no maximum weight limit.
NOTE 4: Ebikes are allowed to use cargo trailers/kid trailers.
NOTE 5: There is no minimum age set.
NOTE 6: DUI - If you have a DUI conviction the restrictions of the DUI override the ebike policy definition of an ebike as a bicycle and put it into the motor vehicle category.
http://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/services/services_renderer.200814.html The last sentence of the Electric Motor Driven Cycle Section.
The notes are not part of the policy they were added by me after some Q&A with the ministry to clarify things.
History of the policy (these dates are from memory and may be wildly wrong)
2006 I called and asked if ebikes would be treated as bicycles or as motor driven cycles. I was told as bicycles. I asked if there were any other restrictions or requirements and was told no there are none.
I was stopped 3 times by cops I explained what it was etc.. and no issues.
2007 I confirmed this again their status and then ordered in a few to sell as a hobby.
14 of these
View attachment 3 I refer to these as Wide style
2 of these
View attachment 2 I refer to these as thin style
and
16 of these
I refer to these as thin style
People preferred the wide style but preferred the thin style price tag.
My first customer was stopped a few times. He's disabled and is an immigrant( barely speaks English) The ignorant cop who pulled him over was a bully and was threatening him with a $6000 fine and time in prison if he ever caught him driving it again. The customer is from the Phillipines and the cops there destroyed his foot through torture. He was terrified. I learned of this and visited the traffic Sgt. Explained to him what it was etc.. etc.. The Traffic Sgt contacted the ministry to confirm. All was ok, no problems, and they sent an email out to the entire dept.
I bring in 50 of these
and also start selling a few conversion kits.
No issues or problems until 2010 when suddenly I hear unsubstantiated rumours cops are telling people ALL ebikes need to be registered. I contact Service NB and they say no they are bikes.
2011 again rumour of cops telling people they need to be registered. I again contact SNB but now am told that if an ebike looks like a bike it's a bike but if it doesn't it isn't. I ask for what line item of legislation says that and am transferred to another dept. and again and again until I am hung up on. I periodically call back and the same thing keeps happening. I contact the ministry by email and am similarly ignored. I take a bike down to SNB to get one registered and they tell me they don't register bicycles and they don't need registration. So since nobody will tell me what legislation says they need to be registered and SNB says they don't register them and don't need registration I continue as before. A month or so later a customer comes to my door with a printout from SNB that says the "if it looks like a bike" thing. More emails and phone calls and still mostly ignored. One in six emails might be responded to, but they just regurgitate the same thing, and refuse to give anything on what legislation says this. I get a different answer each time as well. Sometimes it's "bike type frame" or "looks like a bike" or once even a "ten speed frame only". Ten speed frame only would exclude trikes, beach cruisers, mountain bikes, bmx bikes etcetera. I send a few more emails but it's winter and put it on hold as the bike season is mostly over.
2012/13 At this point business has ground to a halt. I hear the cops are doing registration checks down by harbour station. So I go down to see what happens. They outright LIE to me that "new legislation was just passed that says they need to be registered". I call them liars, that I'm the guy that has been bringing them in and selling them, and I've been trying to get the legislature to do just that. No such legislation was introduced, passed or published in the gazette and I wanted to speak to a supervisor. 20 min later no supervisor and I am handed a ticket and ushered on my way.
I fight the ticket I use MULTIPLE FOIARs to dig into it further because they try to answer my inquiries as minimally as possible and ignore giant swaths of my request. I learn to put my requests in point form.
I learn there is no such legislation at all that says this. No such legislation has ever been published that says this. In fact the ministry has no clue where this entire "looks like a bike" thing came from. I contact the crown. They have not assigned a lawyer to the case. I fax my info over and confirm they received it. I demand to know the exact charge I am facing as according to the ministry my ebike is a bicycle. Long story short
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=54345&hilit=new+brunswick a year later the ticket is withdrawn. I was really looking forward to subpoenaing SNB records on how that "looks like a bike" thing made it into their database.
2013 NEW ebike policy is created that follows the federal definition. (top of this post)
They begrudgingly put a small snippet of the ebike policy up on the SNB website under vehicle registrations as the last sentence on the electric motor driven cycle section.
Part of the reason they finally created the new policy is because in an email the Ministy told me the federal definition 1.21 doesn't apply in N.B.! My reply was that means ebikes in N.B. don't have a motor wattage limit and don't have a speed limit other than to he posted speed limit. So I could merrily build ten speed frame ebikes with 10,000W motors that could go 80Km/hr and it would be perfectly legal. Unsafe, but perfectly legal. The next email I got was the announcement of the NEW policy that follows and even refers to the federal policy via the sticker section, reimposing the wattage limit of 500W and top speed of 32 Km/hr.
2015 Out of the blue I get an email from cbc wanting to do a story on my kijiji ad which asks ebike riders to contact me if they encounter any police harassment. I do the interview and explain the history of all this. They phrase the story as "ebike confusion". There is no confusion. I just want actual legislation for protection not just a policy.
(No problem with massive consumption and waste there.)
