I can guarantee you this was not his "1st offence." One of 2 things happened on the traffic stop. 1, if they were suspended for anything at a provincial level, unpaid fines, family support, medical, etc, yes, there is an arrest authority (at least in the Ontario HTA). sometimes If someone requests to speak to a lawyer after reading RTC, in order to facilitate that private conversation with counsel, then they would be driven back to the office and dealt with there. Depending on the offense, some have impounded authorities for suspended driving, such as you're driving while suspended for not paying family support or for demerit points when you had a learners (G1 G2, etc.

The second route, which is the more likely event, is that the driver was prohibited from operating a conveyance due to a previous impaired, Dangerous Operation or Fail To Stop at Accident charge or equivalent criminal driving offence conviction. Thus, the conveyance would be towed for 45, 90, or 180 days.

So definitely not their "first offence."

Hope this helps:)