Windsor's Provincial Offences Office has high hopes new legislation will help it recoup the $42-million its owed in unpaid fines.
Those are traffic fines, fines for not having the proper insurance, fines issued by the Ministry of Labour; all non-criminal fines issued in the City of Windsor.
The legislation, which came into effect May 1, will mean drivers who owe money will not get a sticker for their license plate when it is up for renewal. It expands the existing plate denial regime.
Manager of Provincial Offences Andrew Daher says it has been a problem for many years, and there are a lot of reasons why people don't pay up.
"The vast majority of these fines have been outstanding for more than a decade," he says. "In many cases, they relate to maybe corporations that are no longer operating or individuals that can not be traced, or they may be deceased, or they may be out of the country."
He says the local office had a banner year in 2016 and was able to boost its revenues by $400,000. In addition to denying license plate renewals, the court can garnish wages and add fines to a municipal tax bill. The court's net revenue last year was just under $2-million.
He says that is good news for taxpayers in the city.
"The more we collect, the more it reduces the burden on the Windsor taxpayer," says Daher. "We have an operating budget, and as part of that operating budget it goes towards the tax base."
Daher says a report is expected to go to city council soon detailing gains the Provincial Offences Office has made.
