Frequently Asked Questions

 

 

Q. What do Provincial Offences Courts do?
A. The Provincial Offences Courts
- process/accept payment of provincial offences fines (except parking fines)
- prosecute/arrange provincial offence trials
- deal with walk-in guilty pleas
- accept filing of Provincial Offences Act matters including appeals, re-openings, motions and extensions of time to pay fines
- handle general inquiries about provincial offences

 

Please note that court staff are not lawyers and cannot provide legal advice on how to conduct your defence or assist you in filling out court forms

 

Q. What are provincial offences?
A. They include:

 

• speeding, careless driving, or not wearing your seat belt - Highway Traffic Act
• failing to surrender your insurance card or possessing a false or invalid insurance card – Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act
• being intoxicated in a public place or selling alcohol to a minor - Liquor Licence Act
• entering prohibited premises or failing to leave premises after being directed not to do so – Trespass to Property Act
• Occupational Health and Safety and Ministry of Environment, Labour or Finance violations
• municipal and regional by-laws – noise, zoning, non-smoking,

 

Persons who are issued with provincial offences tickets should read them carefully for a complete list of their payment and trial options.

 

Q. What are the different types of provincial offences notices?
A. There are three different types of provincial offences notices.

 

Part I – an offence notice (ticket) that is issued to a defendant listing various options on the back of the ticket (these are explained below)
Part II - a parking infraction
A summons under Part 1 or Part 3 requiring the defendant to appear in court on a certain time, place and date.

 

Q. Who can issue provincial offences notices or tickets?
A.  There are many enforcement agencies who can issue you a ticket, including:

 

• Municipal By-law Enforcement such as fire and building code violations
• York Region Police
• Ontario Provincial Police
• Ministry of Transportation
• Ministry of Environment
• Ministry of Labour
• Ministry of Natural Resources
• Ministry of Health
• Workplace Safety and Insurance Board
• Go Transit

• York Region Transit (YRT)/Viva

 

Q. What is the Part 1 Offence Notice (Ticket) process?
A. The Officer serves defendant with Offence Notice

 

Within 15 days, the defendant must exercise one of the following three options listed on the back of the ticket or automatically be found guilty: -

 

Option 1. Pays fine - treated as a Plea of Guilty and a conviction is entered.
Option 2. Pleads guilty with explanation - Conviction is entered.
Option 3. Attends the court office to request an appointment for a first attendance meeting or a trial. (See further explanation regarding the trial option below).

 

Q. What happens if I don't chose an option and do nothing?
A. Failure to choose an option will result in being convicted and additional costs will be applied.

 

Q. How many days do I have to respond once I receive a Part 1 Offence Notice (Ticket)?
A. Please read and follow the instructions provided on the back of the offence notice.

 

Within 15 days, you must choose one of the following options:

 

 

A defendant who has been served with an Offence Notice and chooses not to contest the charge may sign the offence notice under Option 1 and make payment to the court office on the front of the Offence Notice. The defendant must pay the "total payable" in full. Payment is deemed to be a plea of guilty. Demerit points may apply

 

Payment can be made in person or by mail. If a partial payment is made, or if the defendant's cheque is returned for insufficient funds, the fine will not be considered paid.

 

 

This option is available to defendants who do not wish to dispute the charge, but wish to plead guilty before a Justice of the Peace and ask for a lower fine and/or more time to pay the fine. You or an agent on your behalf must attend in person at the court office designated on the back of your Offence Notice. Times and dates are also listed. Upon your arrival at the designated court, you must register your name with our counter staff. Staff will give you further instructions after you sign in.

 

A Justice of the Peace will read the charge to the defendant/agent and register a conviction. The defendant's explanations can only result in a reduction in the fine, or an extension of the time to pay. A Justice of the Peace cannot remove or reduce the demerit points to be applied or reduce the charge. Demerit points may apply.

 

 

 

1. Scheduling an Appointment. (This is called a First Attendance hearing).
The Regional Municipality of York is designated to provide the option of a First Attendance hearing. To exercise this choice, you must attend the court office designated on the back of your Offence Notice to set an appointment to meet with a prosecutor. A First Attendance Hearing Notice will be mailed to you. This is an informal meeting to try to resolve your charge or charges without going to trial. The investigating officer does not attend the meeting. It is your responsibility to advise the court of any change to your mailing address.

 

If the matter cannot be resolved, your trial option remains available. If you have any questions regarding your charge (witnesses or trial procedure) the prosecutor will be able to assist you.

 

2. Scheduling of a trial
The trial option requires you or your agent to attend the court office designated on the back of your Offence Notice to complete and file a Notice of Intention to Appear (NIA). A trial date will be set and a Notice of Trial will be mailed to you indicating your trial time, place and date. It is your responsibility to advise the court of any change to your mailing address.

 

If an agent is representing you, you must authorize the court, in writing, to mail the trial notice to your representative.

 

Q. Why are there two amounts on my ticket?
A. One amount is the set fine and the other is your total payable amount. The difference between the two amounts represents the Victim Fine Surcharge. This surcharge is imposed by the provincial government and is added to fines given under the Provincial Offences Act. Proceeds from the surcharge are used to maintain and expand provincial services to victims of crime.

 

Q. What if I need more time to pay a provincial offence fine?
A. If you need more time to pay a provincial offence fine, visit the designated court office on the back of your Offence Notice. You will be asked to fill out a form. This form will require you to fill in all of the information regarding your offence including how much you have paid so far and a specific date that you would like it extended to, etc. You may leave the request with the court for submission to a Justice of the Peace for consideration. You may call the office after 1 week to find out if your request has been granted.

 

Q. What happens if I cannot attend my trial date that was given to me?
A. You may send an agent to appear on your behalf on the trial date to request a new trial date or to enter a plea on your behalf. The court may or may not grant and adjournment and could order the case to proceed

 

 OR

 

 You or your agent must attend at the court office shown on the Notice of Trial to complete, serve and file a Notice of Motion requesting a change of trial date. The motion may be heard on any date prior to your trial date but must be served and filed at least 3 clear days prior to the hearing of the Motion.

 

Q. What happens if I miss my trial date?
A. If you miss your trial date you may be convicted without a hearing. You may attend at the convicting court office and complete re-opening papers within 15 days of becoming aware of the conviction. You will then appear on your re-opening application before a Justice of the Peace who will then consider the reasons for your failure to appear at trial. The re-opening may or may not be granted.

 

If granted, you will receive a new Notice of Trial by mail. It is your responsibility to advise the court of any change to your mailing address. If not granted, the conviction will stand. You retain the right to appeal this decision.

 

If you were given a Part 3 summons, the trial may take place in your absence or a new trial date may be selected without further notice to you.

 

Q.      How do I appeal a conviction?
A. If you were given a Part 1 offence notice (ticket), you must fill out and file appeal forms within 15 days of your conviction.
If you were given a Part 3 summons, you must fill out, serve and file appeal forms within 30 days of your conviction.

 

In either instance, you must pay the total payable fine given by the court or bring a motion of recognizance and appear before a justice of the appeal court to explain why you cannot pay the fine. If the justice is satisfied that you cannot pay the fine, you will be required to sign the recognizance promising to pay the fine. Should your appeal go forward, you or your agent will appear before a justice of the appeal court.

 

Q. What happens if I miss the time to Appeal?
A. If your appeal period has passed, you may fill out a form called "Motion to extend time to file an appeal". You must then appear before a justice of the appeal court and request additional time to file your appeal.

 

Q. My driver's licence is suspended, if I pay my fine to-day when will I get my licence back?
A. It takes 3 to 5 business days to have your licence reinstated.

 

Q. How many points will I lose?
A. Please contact the Ministry of Transportation for that information. You can contact them at 1-800-387-3445.

 

Q. How can I pay my fine?
A. Your fine can be paid at any Provincial Offence Office in Ontario.  The Provincial Offence Offices in York Region accept cash, cheque, debit card, Visa, Master card. Tickets received in the Region of York may also be paid over the Region's web site at www.york.ca

 

Q. When are you open?
A. Our front counter is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

 

Q. How do I make a formal complaint?
A. Please note that court staff are not able to enter into debates about judicial decisions made by the court. Such matters must be dealt with by appealing to a higher court as mentioned above. Court staff cannot give you any legal advice or advise you on how to conduct your appeal.
   
If you have a complaint concerning administrative matters, you may provide your complaint in writing to the Manager of Court Administration at the appropriate location.

 

Provincial Offences Ontario Court of Justice Newmarket Court (Tannery) 465 Davis Drive Suite 200 Newmarket, ON L3Y 7T9

Provincial Offences Ontario Court of Justice Richmond Hill Court (South Service Centre) 50 High Tech Road Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4N7

 

If the complaint relates to prosecutions, please direct your complaint in writing to the Senior Prosecutor at:

 

Provincial Offences
Ontario Court of Justice
465 Davis Drive
Suite 200
Newmarket, ON
L3Y 7T9