TORONTO -- Ontario courtrooms haven't been the friendliest places for government lawyers over the last few years -- at least as far as the McGuinty administration's ongoing battle with 407 ETR is concerned.

407 ETR -- the private consortium that owns the 108-km highway just north of Toronto -- says the Ontario liberals have been dealt yet another legal blow today.

The Ontario Court of Appeal has denied the government leave to appeal a recent divisional court decision ordering the Ontario Registrar of Motor Vehicles to deny vehicle permits to individuals who refuse to pay their 407 ETR toll bills. "The Registrar has no discretion to refuse plate denial," the court said at the time.

Plate denial is used by 407 ETR because it is an all-electronic, barrier-free highway with no traditional tollbooths.

The government sought leave to appeal the decision, but indicated that the Registrar would begin to deny the renewal of existing, and the issuance of new, vehicle plates permits of individuals who refuse to pay their 407 ETR bills.

"Plate denial has been operating for three months, so we are pleased with the decision of the Court of Appeal," said Enrique Diaz-Rato, president and CEO of 407 ETR. "Today's decision is good news, not only for the company, but for the vast majority of customers who pay their bills. The only people who should be concerned with plate denial are the small number of people who refuse to pay their bills."

The McGuinty government has been in and out of court since it vowed in a pre-election campaign to take back control of tolls on the 407 highway. But it has lost virtually every subsequent court case and appeal.

The Liberal insists on continuing its legal challenges despite the fact opposition politicians and third-party commentators familiar with the original contract have said from the beginning that the government likely can't win the case.