About By-law Enforcement

Part 1 of the POA provides the process for laying a charge against someone by "Certificate of Offence". This is normally done through a "Provincial Offence Notice" also known as a ticket. For a municipality to lay a charge by certificate of offence, the municipality must have approval from the Regional Senior Justice of the Ministry of the Attorney General approving the "set fines" requested by the Municipality.

Part 1 also provides an option for issuing a summons instead of a ticket. A summons does not provide a set fine, and instead provides a court date ordering the defendant to attend court at the date, time and location mentioned on the summons. A part 1 summons is normally issued in two cases. The POA requires that a "young person" 12 years of age or older, but under 16 years of age, be issued a summons rather than a ticket, and has special rules for the penalties a young person can face. The other case is where a repeat offender is being charged for a second or subsequent time. Provincial legislation allows municipalities to implement a graduated system of fines where a person who has previously been convicted of the same offence will face increased fines. These fines must be implemented by issuing a summons.

Set fines and total payable

If you receive a ticket, you may notice that there are two dollar amounts, a "Set Fine" and a "Total Payable". The set fine is the amount that is approved by the Regional Senior Justice. The total payable is the amount of the set fine, plus an amount set by regulation including two surcharges, a "Victim Surcharge" and "Court Costs". Victim surcharges are based on the amount of the set fine, while court costs are set at $5. You can find more information about victim surcharges and set fines at O. Reg. 161/00: VICTIM FINE SURCHARGES and R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 945: COSTS

Part 2 of the POA provides the process for laying a charge for parking, standing, and stopping of vehicles by the issuance of a "parking offence notice" (parking tickets). A person who receives a parking offence notice is provided with 15 days to pay the set fine, or to request a trial. Where a person fails to choose an option and deliver it to the address on the offence notice, a "Notice of Impending Conviction" is sent to the registered owner of the vehicle. The notice will indicate that a conviction will be registered against them unless they pay the set fine or gives notice of an intention to appear in court for the purpose of entering a plea and having a trial.

A defendant who has been given a notice of impending conviction is deemed not to dispute the charge if 15 days have elapsed since the defendant was given the notice, the fine has not been paid and a notice of intention to appear has not been received. A "Certificate Requesting Conviction" will be sent to the court office, and if approved, a conviction will be registered in the defendant's name.

Failure to pay the fine imposed after a conviction has been registered will result in your Ontario Vehicle Permit not being renewed and no new permit being issued to you until the fine and all court costs and fees have been paid.

Part 3 of the POA provides the process for charging a person or corporation by laying an information and serving a summons to the defendant ordering them to attend court at the date, time and location indicated on the summons.

Laying an information

Any person may lay an information by swearing under oath before a Justice of the Peace that they believe, on reasonable and probable grounds, that one or more persons have committed an offence. The Justice will consider the information provided and will decide if a summons should be issued.

Service of summons

Service of a summons must be done by a Provincial Offences Officer, such as a Police Officer, a Conservation Officer, or a Municipal Law Enforcement Officer. A summons may be served before an information is laid if the Provincial Offences Officer believes an offence has been committed and the officer finds the person at or near the place where the offence occurred. In other circumstances, an information must be laid before a summons is served. If a summons has been issued before an information is laid, the Justice may cancel the summons and notify the defendant when the information is laid.