What are provincial offences
Canadian law categorizes provincial offenses to be quasi-criminal with less-aggravating charges compared to others stated in the Criminal Code of Canada. While they don’t attract death sentences or extended jail time, they are punishable with periods of incarceration or huge monetary fines. Over time, people tend to believe charges for an offense related to the Highway Traffic Act Municipal By-law could cause a huge plow on a person’s immigration status. This has proven not to be true.
Most government bodies in Canada maintain a detailed track record of convicted persons under provincial laws. More so, the Ministry of Transportation always keeps records of offenders of reckless driving and impaired driving – which makes it almost impossible for an immigrant to face the penalty of subsequent convictions. However, reoccurring offenses under the Highway Traffic Act can only attract more stiff prosecuting charges.
Ticket vs. summons
Canadian Provincial Offenses Act categorizes traffic charges in two ways. First, the issuing of a Certificate of Offence (Ticket) with a monetary fine attached to the traffic ticket. Secondly, the Summon (Part III) alternative for more grievous traffic offenses. Traffic law summons requires that the defendant report to the Court of law at an assigned date as inscribed on the summons.
Traffic summons attracts more severe penalties by the Justice of the Peace on varying terms. Municipal prosecutors attend to Ticket charges while Provincial prosecutors on behalf of a territory’s Crown Attorney Office send out summons to the accused.
Why you need a lawyer for your traffic tickets
Providing options for defendants
Canadian traffic ticket law outlines three options for provincial offenses related to Highway Traffic Municipal By-law. The options are stated clearly at the back of the certificate of offense (Ticket). We provide appropriate legal counsel and suggestions on the best option to take in approaching the options resulting in the offense notice. Our team carries out proper evaluation and provides the most suitable legal counsel before the 15 calendar-day deadlines.
Defendants have the options to either pay the fine on the ticket thereby accepting full responsibility – or schedule an Early Resolution Meeting. In the case of paying the fine, a conviction is issued to the defendant and the case gets closed. On the other hand, filing for an Early Resolution Meeting would move the case further to the Court of Peace. The last alternative is to file for a Notice of Intention at the court to plead not guilty.
Seeking legal advice
Persons found guilty of provincial offenses in any Canadian province should be ready to face some far-reaching consequences. However, with the right legal counsel, convicts of traffic-related crimes can get reduced penalties and fines or be released without paying a dime. It’s highly recommended that accused persons seek legal counsel for a well-informed session about their case before pleading guilty.
Disclosure or officer’s notes
The Disclosure or notes of the charging officer is the fundamental document or information on which a prosecutor builds the traffic case. Prosecutors are mandated to provide all disclosures relating to a traffic case to the defendant’s legal team before trial. You should tender your request early enough to access your copy of the disclosure.
Appeals
The Provincial Offenses Appeal Court (Ontario Court of Justice) coordinates the filing of provincial offense appeals by federal prosecutors. All appeals are assigned and coordinated by different prosecutors; one municipal prosecutor and another provincial prosecutor from where the incident occurred. Appellants are allowed to send their appeals to counter convictions, sentence variations (including Monetary Fines), or request another trial.
Trials
The Traffic Ticket Laws of Canada categorizes trials for appellants into several categories. Both trials involving ticket appeals (Part I) and summons (Part III) follow similar legal proceedings at the Court. The court often requests that the prosecutor tenders the elements of offense before the set date for the trial. Speeding ticket offenses also requires that the prosecutor provide proof of the defendant driving above the speed limit.
It’s risky for defendants to approach any type of trial by self-representing themselves. Though the trial might seem basic and somewhat straightforward, the court would never offer legal counsel or assistance to self-represented defendants. Defendants have the constitutional rights to generally not present compelling evidence during the trial. But as expected, you did not know about this until now.
Other services we offer
Suspended license offense
We are a legal team with experience in defending life-altering consequences resulting in driving with a suspended driver’s license. To win a suspended license offense case at the court, the defendant needs a competent team of driver’s license attorneys behind his/her case. Clients have trusted us with soliciting for their suspended licenses as well as defending in the case of convictions from the law enforcement when caught driving.
Defending habitual traffic offenders
Canadian Traffic law has stern regulations and convictions against habitual traffic offenders. In almost all provinces and territories across Canada, driving on any major road as an HTO is considered a felony. Habitual traffic offenders need the best traffic law team at their beck and call in the case of future conviction from disobeying traffic regulations. We offer to all designated HTO cases at any level to potentially get our client’s driver’s license reinstated.
Speeding tickets
Even the more cautious drivers in Canada fall victim to speeding tickets with fine-attracted consequences by the traffic law. It’s normal to almost immediately think of paying the fine and accepting the penalties. However, the majority of speeding tickets issued to drivers come without concrete proof. Our job is to provide the most appropriate legal counsel in the case of a speeding ticket while evaluating the best defense strategy in Court.
Why us
To get the best legal representation on your traffic or summons proceedings, you need a competent and problem-solving immigration law firm. Trust us to handle your ticket defense and summon representations to avoid excessive charges or penalties.
Contact SRD Legal
Do you seek the service of a competent traffic lawyer on your ticket or summons? Click here to contact SRD Legal today for a consultation.
