The Ministry of Justice is making it easier for motorists to resolve traffic tickets by introducing improvements to the process and a new online payment system.
The changes will first be implemented for traffic tickets, while the program will later extend to tickets for other offences, a news release explained. The amendments will make the process to resolve tickets simpler and more efficient while being fair to everyone.
For example, the amendments will allow defendants to:
- request an extension to their fine payment due date without attending court;
- enrol in the Fine Option Program before their court appearance, which will allow them to start paying the fine earlier; and
- participate in an early resolution discussion with a prosecutor online, by phone, or in writing.
“The current procedure for resolving tickets can be cumbersome,” MLA Gordon Wyant, minister of Justice and Attorney General, said in a news release. “These changes will modernize the court process and will provide citizens timely and effective access to justice.”
These changes will significantly reduce court volumes by enabling defendants to resolve tickets without needing to travel to a courthouse. The provincial government is currently developing an online system to enact these changes. The first phase of the online system is expected to be operational by fall 2021.
Tickets issued under The Traffic Safety Act represent 90 per cent of all charges for provincial offences, the news release added. The most frequent traffic offences are speeding, photo laser speed enforcement, red-light cameras, unregistered vehicles, and holding, viewing or using electronic communications equipment.
