Ottawa police warn officers will soon start issuing $110 fines for expired licence plates
Ottawa police are reminding drivers to renew their vehicle licence plate, saying officers will soon begin issuing $110 fines for expired plates.
Even though the Ontario government scrapped the licence plate renewal fees and stickers for passenger vehicles, vehicle owners must still renew their plates every one or two years.
The Ottawa Police Service has five Automatic Licence Plate Recognition vehicles in the fleet, which helps police identify stolen licence plates, misuse of plates, unlicensed drivers and expired licence plate stickers.
"A lot of my officers have come in to me, voicing their concerns that people aren't renewing their plate stickers," Sgt. Robert Cairns told CTV News Ottawa.
"I witnessed this firsthand on Friday, Saturday night of last week when I took the ALPR out and noticed that literally hundreds of people aren't renewing their vehicle stickers."
The Ontario government dropped the fees and stickers back in March, saying the change would save drivers $120 a year. The province said motorists would still need to renew their licence plates.
Drivers can renew their licence plates through Service Ontario online, by mail or in-person. Cairns says the Ontario government included a notice to continue to renew the licence plate in the envelope with the licence plate sticker refunds.
“I suggest they re-read that letter,” he said. “It's very concerning that people, being very blunt, are either very lazy or ignorant as to their requirement to renew their plates.”
In April, an 82-year-old Ottawa woman received a $495 ticket from the MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais police after a friend drove her vehicle to Gatineau with the expired plate. Police said officers validate a licence plate through the system to see if it's expired.
While Cairns says he found "hundreds" of vehicles with expired licence plates, the Ottawa Police Service is not currently issuing fines for expired licence plates.
“I could have had thousands and thousands of dollars in fines the other night,” Cairns said. “There will come a time where (drivers) will start getting stopped by Ottawa police officers and issued a $110 fine for not having their plates renewed.”
"We could actually do it right away, but I'm basically giving people another opportunity now. I'm getting more information out, I'm asking them again that they do have an obligation to renew their plates. If that falls upon deaf ears then we will start enforcing the legislation."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Most of the city is evacuating': Gridlock on Alberta highway after evacuation order in Fort McMurray
Four Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were ordered to evacuate on Tuesday as a wildfire gets closer to the city.
Sask. police seize 1.5M pieces of evidence, lay 60 more charges in child exploitation case
Saskatchewan RCMP have revealed that a historic sexual assault investigation has led to the discovery of alleged crimes against children dating back to 2005.
'Inappropriate' behaviour shuts down Dublin to New York City portal
Less than a week after two public sculptures featuring a livestream between Dublin, Ireland, and New York City debuted, 'inappropriate behaviour' in real-time interactions between people in the two cities has prompted a temporary shutdown.
Oilers starting Calvin Pickard in goal for Game 4 vs. Canucks
The Edmonton Oilers will start Calvin Pickard in net Tuesday for Game 4 of their playoff series with the Vancouver Canucks.
Biden administration moving ahead on US$1 billion arms package for Israel, AP sources say
The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it is sending a new package of more than US$1 billion in arms and ammunition to Israel, two congressional aides said Tuesday.
King Charles III unveils his first official portrait since his coronation
King Charles III has unveiled the first portrait of the monarch completed since he assumed the throne, a vivid image that depicts him in the bright red uniform of the Welsh Guards against a background of similar hues.
Full List Are these Canada's best restaurants? Annual top 100 list revealed
The annual list of Canada's top restaurants in the country was just released and here are the places that made the 2024 cut.
Alberta announces the 4 health agencies that will replace AHS later this year
The province has released more information on its plan to break up Alberta Health Services and replace it with four sector-based health agencies.
Maximum payout for LifeLabs class-action drops from $150 estimate to $7.86
Canadian LifeLabs customers who filed an application for a class-action settlement began receiving their payments this week, though at a much lower amount than initially expected.