Over 50 per cent of parking tickets issued during Ottawa trucker convoy still unpaid

The City of Ottawa is still dealing with the fallout of the truck convoy occupation that saw thousands of people from across the country descend upon the nation’s capital. 

Between January 28 and February 18, by-law and regulator services issued 3,812 parking tickets and 318 provincial offence notices.

That’s according to a report that will be presented to the community and protective services committee on Friday, June 16.

However, only 1,600 parking tickets have been paid in the four months since the protests ended, leaving 58 per cent of tickets that still need to be settled with the city.

The parking tickets were issued for parking in no-stopping areas and parking on private property.

The total value of these fines is $320,545.

The city, however, is still waiting on $240,400 of the value of fines to be paid out – that's 75 per cent of the total value of the fines.

The provincial offence notices were issued for offences such as traffic and by-law violations including using sound reproduction devices on a highway, encumbering a highway by vehicle or other means, causing or permitting unusual noise that disturbs inhabitants of the city, operating an unlicensed mobile refreshment vehicle and failure to comply with COVID public health orders. 

Because each provincial offence notice has a different set fine amount, it is difficult to estimate the total value without reviewing each individual ticket, the report states. Around 90 of those provincial offence notices have been paid.

About 15 provincial offence notices and 250 parking tickets have been withdrawn or voided.

Another 15 provincial offence notices and 300 parking tickets are going to trial and six provincial offence notices are held as a prosecutor meeting.

That leaves roughly 150 provincial offence notices and more than 1,200 parking tickets outstanding.

The city says the revenue accumulated through the parking tickets don't cover the costs incurred by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) and the City of Ottawa during the convoy.

Towing costs

Per the report, the total cost of towing services during the convoy was $389,500, with $79,600 recovered, resulting in a total net cost of $309,900.

OPS says it paid for all the towing costs known to the police service.

The amount recovered is from fees paid by the vehicle owners at the towing site, in this case at 3100 Conroy Rd., at the time of vehicle release. 

The fees collected are meant to offset the costs of having a vehicle towed. 

In total, 110 vehicles were towed with 95 per cent being recovered. 

The remaining five per cent remain in storage.

“When a vehicle is recovered, the towing facility will try and recoup the costs incurred from the tow,” the report outlines. “This could include potentially selling the vehicle.”

Police costs

In all, the estimated costs in response to the occupation for the City of Ottawa and OPS is $37 million. 

However, OPS says it is continuing to work with their policing partners who helped during the event and are awaiting final expenditures and invoicing from the OPP and Sûreté du Québec.

The actual costs are expected to be fully known when the Q2 2022 financial report is tabled at the July meeting of the Ottawa Police Services Board.

“The Ottawa Police Service and the City will endeavour to recover its costs through the National Capital Extraordinary Policing contract with Public Safety Canada,” the report further explains.

City costs

Meanwhile, the city has a $10 million bill to address. 

This includes transit revenue impacts, direct costs to support the occupation as well as economic recovery investments to support the downtown businesses. 

The final cost count for the city will be included in the Q2 financial report that is to be tabled in July.

“The costs of the occupation were borne by the Ottawa Police Service,” the report says. “As the federal government has undertaken to make the City of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service Board whole in this regard, there is no plan to try and recover those amounts from the convoy organizers, appreciating also that there is no legal authority in the municipality to do so.”