Don’t think you deserved that parking ticket you received? The process of fighting it may soon change.
City staff is recommending a new process that would keep parking ticket challenges from using up court time and being decided by a justice of the peace, opting instead for a staff review and determination if an "administrative penalty" is required.
The proposal – implementation of an administrative penalty system (APS) – is set to be considered by city council’s committee of the whole on May 15.
“The recommendations of this report should be considered against the backdrop of the overburdened court system and with an understanding of the impacts and constraints on other city initiatives,” the report states. “The court system continues to experience significant delays and case backlogs, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The city initiatives referred to include the red light camera and automated speed enforcement camera programs, which see tickets issued to the registered owner of offending vehicles.
APS systems operate outside the realm of the judicial system, the staff report notes.
Rather than go to court, tickets would be disputed through a review conducted by a municipally employed screening officer who could affirm, cancel, reduce or extend the penalty – the same potential outcomes from a provincially appointed justice of the peace.
Should the fine recipient wish, the screening officer’s decision can be appealed to a council-appointed, third-party hearing officer, whose decision is final and binding, the report contends.
As described in the staff report, potential benefits of using an APS system include quicker resolution of disputed parking tickets, fewer tickets withdrawn due to court delays, and bylaw enforcement officers would no longer be required to prepare for and attend court.
Municipalities are allowed to implement such a system courtesy of an amendment to the Municipal Act in 2017. Its use is also among the recommendations put forward by the Law Commission of Ontario in a 2011 report.
If ultimately approved by council, the system could be up and running in Guelph by early next year.
In the future, it could be expanded to cover other alleged offences for which the municipality has authority to prosecute, which at this point is limited to Provincial Offence Act infractions with set fine amounts.
On a related note, the same staff report recommends city council expand the kinds of offences it prosecutes on the province's behalf to include such things as speeding tickets, liquor licence offences, automobile insurance infractions, trespassing and matters covered by the Dog Owners’ Liability Act.
If council approves the use of an APS, staff would begin developing bylaws, policies and procedures associated with the program and software modifications, as well as recruitment and training of staff.
“The success of an APS is dependent on actual and perceived fairness, transparency, and accessibility of the process, which will be addressed in the bylaws, policies and procedures put in place,” the report states.
Before it could be implemented, whatever decision the committee of the whole makes on May 15 needs to be formally confirmed by council – something that’s likely to follow on May 28.
