Receiving a speeding, parking ticket or any other ticket can be a very emotional experience. In Ontario you have a limited amount of time to decide how you’ll deal with the ticket. In the case of a speeding ticket the decision you make could have long term financial consequences, through increased insurance rates and demerit points. During this time, using the information on this site, you should weigh your options and make as unemotional a choice as possible about how to deal with the ticket.
Successfully fighting a speeding or parking ticket is not easy, especially if you actually have to engage in a trial, although many times you will not; as described on this site. The steps listed below will help you decide if it’s worth your time (from the time of the ticket to a final resolution could be 12 months or more) and effort to fight a speeding or parking ticket. If you decided it’s not then you may seek the help of qualified legal representative or simply pay the fine. In either event you’ll have a better understanding of the process and the steps involved in successfully fighting your speeding or parking ticket.
Make-believe trials for $30 Parking tickets: We discovered last summer (2008) that the City of Toronto has stopped issuing trial dates for $30 Parking tickets. Anyone who gets one can still request a date for trial to contest the ticket – and will be told a trial date will be coming in the mail – but the letter never arrives and no conviction is registered. The City of Toronto figured out it’s far less costly to pretend to offer people a trial, then just forget about it, than it is to actually administer justice (see article). If you don’t take your parking ticket to one of the four (4) locations on the back of the ticket and request a trial, you will then be convicted and will have to pay the forty five dollar fine; fightyourtickets and win.
If you’ve decided to fight your speeding or parking ticket follow this step-by-step guide for best results:
- You’ve received a speeding or parking ticket.
- The Notice of Trial
- The Trial
- Appealing Your Conviction
In Ontario you have 15 calendar days (from the issue date on the ticket) to file a Notice of Intention to Appear form at the nearest Ontario Court of Justice office in your city.
Photocopy or scan both sides of the ticket, for your records, prior to going to the court office.
For a more detailed explanation see: Options When You Receive a Ticket
At the Ontario Court of Justice office you may directed to a “First Attendance Meeting” to meet with the Prosecutor, where you’ll be pressured to plead guilty to a lesser charge. Demand your right to a trial and avoid this meeting, if at all possible. You might suggest that you have an appointment or your away from work and don’t have time to attend such a meeting. You just want to request a trial.
When completing the Notice of Intention Form to appear you should also indicate if you want the trial in French or if you require a language or sign language interpreter to be present in court during the trial.
For a more detailed explanation see: Requesting a Trial
Often, after you have filled out your Notice of Intention to Appear and you present it to the clerk at the office you are submitting it, the clerk will speak to you. The clerk will tell you that if you don’t receive a “Notice of Trial“ within 2 months of requesting a date, then you are obligated to contact the office where you filed the notice and remind them by telephone, that you have not received your “Notice of Trial“ in the mail yet and that you are seeking trial date, to contest the alleged offence.
You are not obligated to contact the office at which you requested a trial, to remind them to do their jobs or to remind them to set a date for your trial. Do not contact them, as this is not in your best interest to do so. Be patient and wait. You will eventually receive a Notice of Trial in the mail and if you don’t, then the City or Province has abandoned the matter.
Or you requested a trial and you followed the correct procedures, by filling out a Notice of Intention to Appear but instead of receiving the “Notice of Trial” in the mail, you receive a Notice of Fine and a Due Date (meaning you were tried and convicted in absentia and you must pay the total fine by a specified date). You only have 15 days to request that your case be Re-Opened.
For a more detailed explanation, see: Conviction Notice
Once you receive the notice of trial, note the date of the hearing. If it is set within 10 months of the date of the alleged infraction then you will immediately have to prepare for a trial.
For a more detailed explanation see: The Players- Plea Bargaining- The Trial
If the trial date is more than 10 months from the date of the alleged infraction you should begin preparing an Application for a Stay of Proceedings to halt the action against you for violation of your Constitutional Right to a speedy trial.
In either case you should also make a disclosure request to obtain all necessary information the Crown has about your case.
For a more detailed explanation see: Disclosure
By this point the trial date has been set. If it’s been more than 10 months since the date of the infraction you should have filed your Application for a Stay of Proceedings with the appropriate Offices. You’ve also made extra copies for the Judge or Justice of Peace as well as for the Crown and yourself. Your prepared to present your first motion in court to have the proceedings against you stayed due to the violation of your Constitiutional Rights to a speedy trial.
For a more detailed explanation see: Reasons for Dismissal
You’ve received disclosure from the Crown regarding your case. If not, then you’re prepared to make a motion to have the charges dismissed.
For a more detailed explanation see: Reasons for Dismissal
You’re at the trial and the police officer or the person who issued the ticket is not present, you move a motion to have the charges dismissed.
For a more detailed explanation see: Reasons for Dismissal
The trial is less than 10 months from the date of the alleged infraction and is proceeding. Prior to this you’ve prepared your list of questions for the person who issued the ticket. You prepared your witnesses (if any) and your list of questions. You’ve prepared your own explanation as to what happened and why.
For a more detailed explanation see: The Trial
You make your closing arguments and the trial concludes.
For a more detailed explanation see: The Trial
The Judge or Justice of Peace renders the verdict and you won, congratulations.
Or you were found guilty. At this point you must decide whether you’ll accept your conviction and the sentence (fines and associated costs) imposed on you.
The conviction will be registered and your insurance company will be made aware of your guilt. Demerit points will remain on your file for 2 years from the date of the infraction, while your insurance company will keep a record for 3 years.
Before you can appeal you must pay any fines and associates, at your local Provincial Offences Act office. Make sure you get a receipt for your payment.
In Ontario you must file your appeal within 15 days of the date of conviction.
For a more detailed explanation see: Appealing a Conviction or Sentence
The above steps are only intended to give you an overview of the entire process of fighting your speeding or parking ticket. Each section has links to more detailed information on this site. This guide has been kept as concise as possible to allow for a general understanding of the process involved. There is, however, much more involved in the process and if you intend to represent yourself or others, then you must carefully read the sections noted above, as well as those dealing with the specific laws you’ll be relying upon in your defence.
Please leave comments to help make this guide better and the best of luck, in fighting your tickets.
Hi Matt:
You must go to the court office and request a trial. You must also request disclosure: this is a copy of the notes that both of the officers should have made at the time that you were charged and the allegation was laid.
The officer that issued you the ticket stated that his partner had seen you without your seatbelt. He did not indicate that he saw you operating your motor vehicle without wearing your seat belt.
Your spouse can come to court and swear under oath that you were wearing your seatbelt at the time that the allegation was made against you and the time that you received your ticket.
Bringing your son to simply state that your normal practice is to wear your seatbelt while operating your motor vehicle won’t be a great deal of assistance, given that the best witness, whose evidence will be the most relevant and given the most amount of weight, will be that of your spouse. She was with you at the time of the incident and will give evidence on this crucial point.
If the officer who issued you the ticket did not see you without your seatbelt, then his partner will have to come and provide viva voce evidence on this point. If the officer, who issued the ticket, only relied on his partner’s observations, then his evidence would be considered to be “heresay” and will not be given alot of weight by the court. Both your spouse and yourself can give direct evidence on point and will prove to be the most reliable and relevant.
Both officers would have to show up to give evidence (unless the one that provided the ticket suddenly recalls that he also saw you driving without your seatbelt being worn). You have a very good chance of successfully defending yourself in court on this charge.
You can’t afford this ticket and the consequences that accompany it and you must fight it. Remember to always http:fightyourtickets.ca
Hello, Admin. Thank you very much for all your great advices and suggestion. Yes, I will fight the ticket for sure. I will let you know the progress and share my experiences with everyone later on.
Hello Administrator:
My trial was scheduled for 1:30 pm today and I was organized. I had reviewed your entire website and had followed your instructions to the “t” – I was prepared today. I thought for good measure I should buy your book and I am glad I did. All the bookstores I went to in the area that I live in and that I work in, contained nothing which could be used for the battle that I found myself in today. All the books that I looked at were either way out of date or left you with more questions than the answers inside of them. Your book is up to date and contained a number of different ways to fight my tickets. I used one of the sections today and if I had not known this information, I would have been found guilty of the charges. I found it really helpful to write down all the questions I had for the cop that laid the charges (advice I thank you for, which you have on your website) and I was actually in control when I had a chance to cross-examine. The prosecutor tried to rush me through my questions, until I reminded the jp that I had the right to cross-examine and that at no time did I rush or try to rush, the prosecutor when he was asking his questions of his only witness. The jp agreed with me and actually gave the prosecutor shit! I am really happy because after this, I presented my final argument and the jp only convicted me of the one minor charge (that will not affect my insurance) and said that “after hearing the evidence, found that a reasonable doubt was raised in regard to the other two charges and dismissed the charges (the two that would have increased my insurance premiums). I don’t want to get too much into the details, as I do not want to anger the prosecutor and have him submit an appeal. It bears repeating that I am convinced that without your website and your ebook, I could not have been prepared for this situation. Thanks to you guys, I am now beginning to learn and understand a system which use to terrify me. It doesn’t scare me anymore – you reached your goal, I am empowered.
Hi Chris: Well done! The goal of the site has been realized. Thank-you.
You have helped so many peopple that can’t afford to buy legal help – like me.
I have been following your webiste for a long time. I have won 2 of my tickets (one for speeding and the other for parking in a fire route) and have never needed to use any of the Acts before.
I am doing an appeal and I need to use two Ontario Acts.
How can I put them in? In what format – can I just write them off of my computer and hand them in or do I have to put them in in some other way? Where can I buy them, cheap and jsut photocopy them 3 times and hand them in.
In 3 weeks I read your entire website, but it doesn’t refer to these points. Your help would be very grateful.
Hi Mike:
In the past, for the typical layperson, the only way to access laws, which were specifically relevant to the issue, was to either purchase it at the Provincial or Federal publications bookstores. The legislation was always expensive and was only up to date, to the date that it was actually published. Whenever the legislation changed (and this happens frequently in Ontario) or was updated, you had to purchase the most recent law.
On July 25, 2007 the Legislation Act, 2006 came into being, and it was obvious (from a simple read) that the government was beginning to recognize that the age of the internet was upon us and wasn’t going away. The Act also provided more convenient and less expensive ways of obtaining legislation and including it in your submissions to the courts. The courts now accept copies of the Acts from the internet (Ontario’s “e-laws” which include Ontario statutes and laws):
Legislation Act, 2006 (see: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06l21_e.htm#BK38)
PART IV PROOF OF LEGISLATION
Official copy
35. (1) A copy of a source law or a consolidated law is an official copy of that law if,
(a) it is printed by the Queen’s Printer or by an entity that is prescribed under clause 41 (1) (a);
(b) it is accessed from the e-Laws website in a form or format prescribed under clause 41 (1) (b); or
(c) it is prescribed under clause 41 (1) (c) as an official copy. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F, s. 35 (1).
Disclaimer
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a copy that is accompanied by a disclaimer to the effect that it is not intended as official. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F, s. 35 (2).
Official copies of source law as evidence
38. Unless the contrary is proved, an official copy of a source law is an accurate statement of that law.
Official copies of consolidated law as evidence
39. Unless the contrary is proved, an official copy of a consolidated law is an accurate statement of that law,
(a) in the case of an official copy described in clause 35 (1) (a), on the consolidation date shown on the copy;
(b) in the case of an official copy accessed from the e-Laws website in a form or format prescribed under clause 41 (1) (b), during the period indicated on the e-Laws website in respect of the copy when the copy is accessed;
(c) in the case of an official copy prescribed under clause 41 (1) (c), on the date or during the period prescribed under clause 41 (1) (d).
Regulations
41. (1) The Attorney General may make regulations,
(a) prescribing an entity for the purposes of clause 35 (1) (a);
(b) prescribing forms or formats, including print-outs, on-screen displays or other output of electronic data, for the purposes of clause 35 (1) (b);
(c) prescribing official copies for the purposes of clause 35 (1) (c);
(d) prescribing the date on or period during which a copy prescribed under clause (c) is an accurate statement of a consolidated law.
See Ontario Regulation 413/08: see http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2008/elaws_src_regs_r08413_e.htm
Ontario Regulation 413/08 (as of November 27, 2008) reads as follows
OFFICIAL COPY OF LAW FROM E-LAWS WEBSITE
Official copy
1. For the purposes of clause 41 (1) (b) of the Act, the following are the prescribed forms or formats of a copy of a source law or a consolidated law accessed from the e-Laws website:
1. An on-screen display of a copy viewed on or downloaded from the e-Laws website in HTML format or Microsoft Word format.
2. A print-out of a copy viewed on or downloaded from the e-Laws website in HTML format or Microsoft Word format.
What all of this means, is that you can now download copies of the law, from government e-laws websites and that this law can be introduced into the courts as “official copies of that particular law”. The formats that are accepted, can be see in Ontario Regulation 413/08. I have provided a link to the Legislation Act, 2006 (which provides the most recent consolidation (July 25, 2007 to December 14, 2009) of this law). The format or prescribed form, in which these laws can be submitted to and accepted by the courts, can be found in Ontario Regulation 413/08.
If you intend on relying on any part of the Highway Traffic Act or the Courts of Justice Act or any other Provincial Act, then copy them off of the official e-Law websites provided and you will be able to successfully use them in the courts when you are fighting your tickets in the courts. You will save a bundle of money and will always have access to the most up to date and relevant legislation (without having to purchase the entire Act, just to be in possession of the most recent change to one section of the sameAct).
Good Luck and remember to always http://fightyourtickets.ca
Comment:
I missed my court date in December to schedule the trial. I expected a trial notice. Instead I got a notice of fine. I did not receive a trial notice at all. I realize I can appeal this. will I be successful in this case?
I read your section on appeals. I can appeal the conviction but not the sentence? still not certain what is involved in the appeal. I am not so worried on the fine as I am the affect on my insurance.
Also, this section makes reference to the 2 and 3 years periods from the offense date, not the date of conviction. If you have an offense, I thought it only counted against you upon conviction?
Can I just pay the money and not have the conviction?
thanks again. This website is a great service. I will be buying your book just as soon as I get my paypal account sorted out. (within the week)
LS7
Hi Lightspeed7: Long time no hear. Welcome back.
If you missed your court date due to the fact that you did not receive your Notice of Trial in the mail, you have only 15 days (include the weekends as part of the the 15 day calculation) from the time that you received what you refer to as a “notice of fine” to make an application for a Re-opener. This is not an appeal, this is an application for a re-opening, meaning that you would have another trial date scheduled for your ticket. You will have to explain that you did not receive your Notice of Trial, but instead received your conviction notice – this should be sufficient to convince the Justice of the Peace to grant the re-opener and he/she will have to provide you with another trial. See “Conviction Notice” at http://fightyourtickets.ca/tickets/conviction-notice/ . The only time that you would initiate an appeal (again you would only have 15 days to do so) is if the Justice of the Peace was unreasonable and did not grant your request for a re-opener. By the way, to state under oath or affirmation (which will take place in the presence of the Justice of the Peace as he/she reviews you application for a re-opener) that you did not receive a Notice of Trial in the mail (after having filled out the a NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPEAR sheet – a Form 7 – Provincial Offences Act – Regulation 950 ) but instead, received a conviction notice (notice of fine) after having been convicted in absentia, would be legitimate grounds for a re-opener. If the Justice of the Peace refused to approve your request for a new trial, you would have very good grounds for an appeal (but would only have 15 days to do so, upon hearing the JP’s decision).
For the Ministry of Transportation, who administers your driving licence record in Ontario and any demerit point points that you may accumulate, the Ministry only looks at the time that you were charged with an alleged offence (2 years from the date that you were charged), but only if you are eventually convicted. It is Insurance Companies that maintain a record from the actual date of the conviction – as a minimal 3 years and sometimes up to 6 or 7 years (but only if you convicted of the alleged offence). If there is no conviction, then neither the Ministry of your insurance company can rely upon the alleged offence to your detriment.
Take care and remember to always http://fightyourtickets.ca
Hello,
My wife has got a parking ticket and we would like to fight it. We did a long research on the corresponding by-laws, but could not find anything that would cover her situation clearly. The story goes: The other day my wife got a call from the school. She was said that our son was kicked by accident, and was asked to pick him up as even after spending half an hour in the school nurse’s office he was still in pain. My wife immediately rushed to the school. She parked in front of the office, where our son was waiting for her, and ran inside to help out our son as he was not able to walk out on his own. In less then 2 minutes they were out and found a by-law officer sticking a $150 ticket on the wind shield for the car parked in a designated fire-route lane. She explained the officer that she had responded to an emergency call from the school and that she had parked in front of the office so that our son could get into the car with minimal painful walking. The officer shrugged off her arguments and left hastily.
The twist in the story is that the driveway, where my wife parked the car, is a 2-lane, one-way road. The right lane, where the car was parked, is a designated kiss-and-ride lane, where parents and school buses park (not just wait) routinely without issues. The left lane is a drive-through lane, leading to the exit from the school property. The fire-route sign is only displayed on the left side (drive-through) and does not state that both lanes are designated as a fire-route.
Any advice would be highly appreciated. Thank you for your help in advance!
racconC
Hi raccoonC:
You have to fight this one. It sounds like technically your wife was illegally parked. But much like an ambulance (who would not have received a ticket), the motor vehicle that your wife was using was being used for the same purpose and reason. The reason an ambulance parks close to a building is to ensure that the injured individual can be transported as quickly and painlessly to the vehicle being used for this purpose. If your wife transported your son to the hospital or a doctor’s office, your wife should try to obtain documentation to establish that and to corroborate this fact. The by-law officer upon hearing the circumstances should have exercised her discretion, and ripped up the ticket, rather than just casually shrugging her shoulders and leaving the scene.
You have 150 reasons to be upset and should immediately file a Notice of Intention to Appear. The signage was confusing to say the least and ultimately would be interpreted or misinterpreted by the bylaw officer who issued the ticket. Upon receiving this, you should file a disclosure request and begin to outline your questions and final argument. Remember upon hearing all of the facts surrounding this ticket, I am sure that the Prosecutor will offer a reduced fine and may even drop it. If the Prosecutor is unreasonable, then you would appeal to the reasonableness of the Justice of the Peace. Any parent hearing this will sympathize and would do the right thing. Your son may have been kicked by “accident”, but the kick in the pants that you received by the bylaw officer was intentional and no accident. You must fight this one, simply on a point of principle. Remember to always http://fightyourtickets.ca
Hi Admin,
your website is great, i have learn so much after i got my first hand written speeding ticket a few weeks ago. .
i was told that i drove over the limits (21 to be exact on a community safety zone ). The street i was on is a 70 m zone then later to reduce 50m. i was caught on the bottom 50.
i knew i drove under the limit because i have a habit of looking at the speedmeter quite often. if i am in the 70 zone, i make sure i am on the 60 or unless i don’t know the limit then i will drive 50. never ever i would drive over the limit.
i carefully reviewed my ticket and i found a few errors
1) the wrong spelling of a street name
2) the date is wrong. ( i could not be 2 places at the sametime in different area ( north central and south east ).
i got all the receipts with the time and credit card # on the receipt ready to show the judge that i was no where near the location which i was charged on that day and that specific time.
i have filled out the a Notice of Intention to appear and waiting for the notice of trial.
what else do i need to do? what do i need to look for ?
Do i have a winning case?
it may sound riciculous that i actually lost sleep over this , please help!
regards
Brice
Hi Brice: It sounds as though you are vigorously pursing this matter and will ultimately win this. You have
already taken the right step in filling out a request for trial (Notice of Intention to Appear notice).
While you are waiting for your Notice of Trial in the mail, you should be performing some
preventative research and look at the following page: http://fightyourtickets.ca/tickets/reasons-
for-dismissal/
When you receive your Notice of Trial, you should be filling out a request for disclosure, see:
http://fightyourtickets.ca/tickets/disclosure/
You have the right under section 7 of the Charter to receive full disclosure before the trial and it is
only then, after you have received your disclosure that you will be in a position to mount your
defence and to understand the threshold that you would have to meet. You may want to ask in
your disclosure request, what kind of speed measuring device was used to determine that you were
driving in excess of the posted speed limit, the speed measuring device manufacturer’s
recommendations or specifications, when the officer tested the speed measuring device and all of
the results obtained.
You are on the right track, you just have to do alittle more preparatory work prior to the scheduled
trial, to get ready for the process. Remember to always http://fightyourtickets.ca
Hello Admin,
I’ve received a parking ticket and it took them 14months to send me my court date! So now, I’m trying to put together the application for Stay of Procedings and just have a few questions for you:
1) the ticket was issued under the car owner’s name (which is not me, I was borrowing the car that day), so on the day of the trial, do they need to be there in person as well?
2) for tabs 5 and 6 of the application, am I including these two papers in its entirety?
Askov: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1990/1990canlii45/1990canlii45.html
Morin: http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1992/1992canlii89/1992canlii89.html
3) Lastly, for the blue cardboard cover/backing (I assume these two are of the same material), how much does the colour and cardboard thickness matter?
Thanks!
Hello again Admin!
Actually, I only have the Notice of Intention to Appear and not the actual parking ticket itself. I think that when I went to get set my trial date, I surrendered the parking ticket to them and they gave me this slip instead. Does that work for Tab 3? Because if it doesnt then there’s no point in answering my previous questions since I clearly will not be able to file for the Stay of Procedings…
Thanks in advance!
Hello,
I am new to all of this, and have a few questions.
I was charged with the speeding on May 10th, 2009 on the QEW 90km/h going 125km/h. I requested for a disclosure at the clerk office in person on Dec. 11, 2009 (a week or so after receiving the NOTICE OF TRAIL by mail). The trail date was on February 22nd, 2010 (10 months from the offence date). Three weeks before my trail date, I called the clerk office and was told very abruptly that “I would just have to wait for it!” It didn’t occur to me at the time I should of faxed, or mailed in about inquiry into my disclosure so, I would have proof I looked into the matter to show the courts.
The court date came and I went to court and asked the prosecutor for an adjournment due to the lack of disclosure. I appeared before the justice of peace, and the cop was asked to come up and state an available date he had for the adjournment, which was April 9th, 2010. The justice of peace then asked “do I agree to the court date of April 9th, 2010, and to make a note that it would be taking place in court room #E at 1:30pm.” And I answered yes. The prosecutor than states the disclosure would be ready for pick up after the end of court, but I was in a hurry and had to leave right after my trail and didn’t pick up the disclosure, however would do so before the trail date.
My question is this…
It would be 12 months from the offence date of May 10th, 2010, to of April 9th, 2010 (the new court date). Would 12 months qualify to request for a stay proceedings? Considering the adjournment on the orginal court date was at the flaut of the Crown because they were unable to provide me with a disclosure before the trail date. I was reading your application of stay and it was showing 14 months as an example.
Also, what is the purpose of providing a copy of the entire case of Askov et al v. r. Decision & R. v. Morin Decision? And I can copy/print the ones found on http://www.canlii.org.
And would I need my sworn statement signed by a Commissioner of Oath?
Can the documents for the stay proceedings be faxed over to Department of Justice & Attorney General of Ontario?
Greatly appreciate any comments or advice offered
Thank you,
Yen
Hi Yen:
You have taken all the right steps to date. You have a right under the Charter to full disclosure, before the trial commences and you exercised this right. see http://fightyourtickets.ca/tickets/disclosure/ . You should have received disclosure long before the trial date, especially if the trial was scheduled for February 22, 2010 and you requested the disclosure on December 11 of the previous year (2 months and 10 days).
When you showed up for your trial, the Prosecutor (who has an obligation and duty to provide you with disclosure) agreed to adjourn the matter to April 9, 2010 given that the Prosecutor did not meet his/her obligation to provide you with the disclosure that you requested and were entitled to have. This delay can only be attributed to the negligence of the Prosecutor and not to yourself or to the actions of the defendant.
May 10, 2009 to April 9, 2010 is 11 months, less a day. You can certainly submit an Application for Stay of Proceedings see: http://fightyourtickets.ca/tickets/application-for-stay-of-proceedings/ and rely on Morin (in this decision the Supreme Court speaks to a guideline for trials at 8 to 10 months) but the Supreme Court on top of the 8-10 months also allows for an “intake period” or “an administrative period” which can mean a number of months, depending on how busy that particular area is. The larger the area, the busier the area, then more time is allowed for the administrative intake or processing of tickets to trial. In Toronto, for instance, 14 months seems to be the threshold and any matters that take 14 months or more to proceed to trial, will be thrown out, if the defendant has submitted an Application for Stay of Proceedings well in advance of the scheduled trial. It depends on volume of tickets received in the area in which you received your ticket for speeding.
If I was in your position, I would definitely file the Application for Stay, even if, at the end of the day, the Court was not prepared to accept it, at 11 months. The reason you should file it is that it will motivate the Prosecutor to lower the fine and/or demerit points (ie-125 km/h to 115 km/h) or in the event that the matter is put over again (and this could happen, for example the officer doesn’t show up on April 9, 2010 and the matter is adjourned the second time) this additional time may well put it over the acceptable threshold.
In response to your other questions:
Submit the entire decisions, as you will be relying upon these decisions. In addition to submitting these decisions within the Application for Stay of Proceedings you should read these decisions and understand them, in order to make your argument with authority.
You can submit the decisions from CanLII. In the past, for the typical layperson, the only way to access laws, which were specifically relevant to the issue, was to either purchase it at the Provincial or Federal publications bookstores. The legislation was always expensive and was only up to date, to the date that it was actually published. Whenever the legislation changed (and this happens frequently in Ontario) or was updated, you had to purchase the most recent law.
On July 25, 2007 the Legislation Act, 2006 came into being, and it was obvious (from a simple read) that the government was beginning to recognize that the age of the internet was upon us and wasn’t going away. The Act also provided more convenient and less expensive ways of obtaining legislation and including it in your submissions to the courts. The courts now accept copies of the Acts from the internet (Ontario’s “e-laws” which include Ontario statutes and laws):
Legislation Act, 2006 (see: http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/statutes/english/elaws_statutes_06l21_e.htm#BK38)
PART IV PROOF OF LEGISLATION
Official copy
35. (1) A copy of a source law or a consolidated law is an official copy of that law if,
(a) it is printed by the Queen’s Printer or by an entity that is prescribed under clause 41 (1) (a);
(b) it is accessed from the e-Laws website in a form or format prescribed under clause 41 (1) (b); or
(c) it is prescribed under clause 41 (1) (c) as an official copy. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F, s. 35 (1).
Disclaimer
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a copy that is accompanied by a disclaimer to the effect that it is not intended as official. 2006, c. 21, Sched. F, s. 35 (2).
Official copies of source law as evidence
38. Unless the contrary is proved, an official copy of a source law is an accurate statement of that law.
Official copies of consolidated law as evidence
39. Unless the contrary is proved, an official copy of a consolidated law is an accurate statement of that law,
(a) in the case of an official copy described in clause 35 (1) (a), on the consolidation date shown on the copy;
(b) in the case of an official copy accessed from the e-Laws website in a form or format prescribed under clause 41 (1) (b), during the period indicated on the e-Laws website in respect of the copy when the copy is accessed;
(c) in the case of an official copy prescribed under clause 41 (1) (c), on the date or during the period prescribed under clause 41 (1) (d).
Regulations
41. (1) The Attorney General may make regulations,
(a) prescribing an entity for the purposes of clause 35 (1) (a);
(b) prescribing forms or formats, including print-outs, on-screen displays or other output of electronic data, for the purposes of clause 35 (1) (b);
(c) prescribing official copies for the purposes of clause 35 (1) (c);
(d) prescribing the date on or period during which a copy prescribed under clause (c) is an accurate statement of a consolidated law.
See Ontario Regulation 413/08: see http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2008/elaws_src_regs_r08413_e.htm
Ontario Regulation 413/08 (as of November 27, 2008) reads as follows
OFFICIAL COPY OF LAW FROM E-LAWS WEBSITE
Official copy
1. For the purposes of clause 41 (1) (b) of the Act, the following are the prescribed forms or formats of a copy of a source law or a consolidated law accessed from the e-Laws website:
1. An on-screen display of a copy viewed on or downloaded from the e-Laws website in HTML format or Microsoft Word format.
2. A print-out of a copy viewed on or downloaded from the e-Laws website in HTML format or Microsoft Word format.
What all of this means, is that you can now download copies of the law, from government e-laws websites and that this law can be introduced into the courts as “official copies of that particular law”. The formats that are accepted, can be see in Ontario Regulation 413/08. I have provided a link to the Legislation Act, 2006 (which provides the most recent consolidation (July 25, 2007 to December 14, 2009) of this law). The format or prescribed form, in which these laws can be submitted to and accepted by the courts, can be found in Ontario Regulation 413/08.
If you intend on relying on any part of the Highway Traffic Act or the Courts of Justice Act or any other Provincial Act, then copy them off of the official e-Law websites provided and you will be able to successfully use them in the courts when you are fighting your tickets in the courts. You will save a bundle of money and will always have access to the most up to date and relevant legislation (without having to purchase the entire Act, just to be in possession of the most recent change to one section of the sameAct).
Technically you should have your sworn statement signed off by a Commissioner, but I have never done this, I have always signed them off by myself. If the Prosecutor raises it as an issue at the Trial, you can simply read off your sworn statement under oath.
At one point in time, the Department of Justice accepted Applications via facsimile, but they don’t now. Given the volume of the documents found contained in an Application for Stay of Proceedings, it would be unrealistic to fax these Applications. You have to serve these douments in person and wait for a stamp on the back of the Application. Make six (6) copies – bring them to the Attorney General of Canada (Department of Justice) have them all stamped, and leave one with them and bring five (5) away with you. Do the same thing at the Attorney General of Ontario and leave them with one and bring them away with you, etc. When you are finished, you will have two (2) which you will bring to the trial. If the Justice of the Peace claims that he or she did not receive his/her copy, then you can provide him/her with your extra copy, while maintaining your copy from which you can make quotes from, and from which you can prove that you served the other copies by way of the stamps on the back cover of the Application. Remember to always http://fightyourtickets.ca
Hi Wendy:
In response to your questions:
1. If you received the ticket, you have to show up, not the registered owner of the vehicle
2. Include the Askov and Morin decisions in their entirety.(In Tabs 5 & 6)
3. It should be blue and thicker than paper, given that you have to rely on the back tab to receive the stamps and the ink that will be used in the stamp is thick and will adhere much better to a thicker grade of cardboard, then paper.
Remember to always http://fightyourtickets.ca
Hi Wendy:
People lose things, but this doesn’t mean they lose their rights under the Charter. If you filed your parking ticket without copying it first then you won’t have the ticket. You could go back to the place that you filed it and ask for a copy or you could just file the Application for Stay of Proceeding without it. This would mean
that you would lose one Tab, but would submit everything else in the Application. If you do not include a copy of the ticket within your Application for Stay, this is not fatal and your application would be reviewed by the courts as if it was included. You would cover this off anyway within your statement, by explaining that you received a ticket on a given day and place and time. File the Application for Stay of Proceedings without the ticket. Remember to always http://fightyourtickets.ca