Councillor wants Ottawa to explore sliding scale for parking ticket fines based on income, vehicle value
An Ottawa councillor is asking the city to explore imposing fines for parking tickets based on the driver's income or the value of the vehicle.
With the city of Ottawa moving to a new system for dealing with parking tickets and red light and photo radar camera infractions, Coun. Shawn Menard wants the city to look at a "sliding scale for parking fines that is geared to income, or other potential proxies for ability to pay."
- Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
- The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App
In a motion for the finance and corporate services committee, Menard says a fine hurts some motorists more than others.
"For the luxury car illegally parked near Lansdowne, a parking fine might just be the price they are willing to pay to attend an event, for others, a parking ticket fine could be the difference between them being able to afford their grocery bill at the end of the month," Menard said.
"Other jurisdictions have addressed this inherent inequality through introducing a system of fines geared to income."
Menard notes Finland has implemented a sliding-scale model for speeding tickets that is based on the offender's disposable income.
On Tuesday, councillors voted to implement a new administrative penalty system for adjudicating parking and camera-based offences.
When Menard asked about a sliding scale for parking ticket fines, staff said they would need some time to explore the possibility of a new penalty system for parking tickets.
Ottawa Bylaw officers issued 298,918 parking tickets in 2023. A report for the emergency and protective services committee shows officers issued 37,652 tickets for parking in excess of posted time limits and 35,378 tickets for illegally parking in no parking zones. Officers also issued 43,610 tickets for unauthorized parking on private property.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump delivers rambling response to his hush money conviction
A day after a New York jury delivered a historic guilty verdict in Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee held a press conference Friday where he spoke publicly about the conviction and his White House bid.
Mediterranean diet helps women live much longer, a large new study finds
Women who closely followed a Mediterranean diet lived much longer than those who did not, according to a new study that followed more than 25,000 women for 25 years.
How did Ontario's bankrupt 'Crypto King' travel the world on Scene+ points?
Newly released documents suggest Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ paid for months of world travels with $13,000 worth of Scene+ points while bankrupt – but how?
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Solutions coming for piled-up bodies outside Newfoundland hospital
Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador say they are only weeks away from a solution to move unclaimed human remains out of roadside freezers and into a nearby hospital.
Jurors weigh death penalty after finding Chad Daybell guilty of killing his first wife and second wife's 2 children
A day after delivering a guilty verdict in Chad Daybell’s murder trial, an Idaho jury will reconvene Friday to weigh whether he will face the death penalty.
Actor Nick Pasqual charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing estranged girlfriend
An actor who has appeared in film and TV projects like 'Rebel Moon' and 'How I Met Your Mother' has been arrested and charged with stabbing his estranged girlfriend multiple times.
'Unprecedented': Human smuggling from B.C. to U.S. soars, using train, Uber and foot
American prosecutors and law enforcement officers say they're dealing with a huge increase in human smuggling from British Columbia.
The northern lights are returning to night skies across Canada this Friday
If you missed the brilliant displays of the aurora borealis over North America on May 10, you may have another chance to see them on Friday night.