Courts no longer needed to settle parking ticket disputes in the city

August 29th, 2017  |  Canadian Business

The city of Toronto has introduced a new way to settle parking ticket disputes, and it no longer involves going to court.

According to the director of prosecutions for the city, Kalli Chapman, this new process, dubbed the Administrative Penalty System, should make settling parking disputes faster, easier, and more convenient for motorists.

"The new process is going to be much speedier than the old process," said Chapman. "We are anticipating to be able to deliver the service in a much more efficient manner that is faster and easier for the public."

Under the new system, instead of getting a parking ticket, motorist will receive a “parking violation notice” and will be handled by what the city is calling “the administrative review process”.

Chapman goes onto explain that instead of obtaining a trial date, will be able to go to one of two in-person locations, at Metro Hall or North York Civic Centre, or online, when they want to dispute a parking violation notice. 

However, not everyone thinks that this new process is in the best interests of Toronto motorists. Former city councilor member and now paralegal, John Papadakis, said the city is taking away the rights of residents to due process and believes the new process is unconstitutional.

"No due process of law, no innocent until proven guilty, no evidence against you, no facing your accuser — it completely takes away your rights," he said. "This is unacceptable. It's underhanded. And it's sly."