Discussion:

The 2019 Annual Report (attached as Appendix A) will detail the following:

In 2019, the POA Program took in a total of 29,682 charging documents, for a monthly average intake of approximately 2,474 tickets. This was up 16.3% from the prior year.

Windsor experienced a substantial increase in charges filed in 2019 compared to 2018. Windsor ended the year with 29,336 charges which is a 16.3% increase in charges compared to 2018. The provincial total was -3.3% less than 2018 so Windsor experienced a positive trend in charges filed compared to the provincial total.

Revenue collection continues to increase through adding outstanding fines to the municipal tax roll, payments made at Service Ontario, wage garnishments and third party collection agencies.

Regardless of how effective the active collection efforts are, there still remain a significant number of outstanding fines. As of December 31, 2019, there were approximately records of 71,430 unpaid fines for a total outstanding amount of $45,495,729. This amount is not just a Windsor issue; it’s a province wide concern. The vast majority of these outstanding fines have been outstanding for more than a decade, and in many cases relate to corporations that are no longer operating, individuals that cannot be traced and may be deceased, and out of country residents.

The Provincial Offences Division continues to work closely with the Ministry of Attorney General and the Ministry of Transportation to enhance collection efforts. The most recent initiative that came into effect in May of 2017 included and expansion of Ontario’s existing plate denial regime to include defaulted POA fines for driving-based offences, This change in legislation is just another enforcement tool to help municipalities increase their collection efforts. In 2019 over $464,764 was collected through this program. This is expected to increase over time.

Risk Analysis:

There are no significant risks identified.