Casual Legal: Deciding which type of provincial violation ticket to issue

By Lauren Chalaturnyk
Reynolds Mirth Richards Farmer LLP
Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Service Provider 

Under the Provincial Offences Procedure Act, there are two types of Provincial Violation Tickets that can be issued for violation of municipal bylaws: Part 2 Tickets and Part 3 Tickets.

The choice between a Part 2 and Part 3 ticket depends primarily on the seriousness of the violation and the associated penalty. The consequences flowing from Part 2 and Part 3 tickets differ, which is why municipalities should be aware of when they can use one or the other.

Part 2 Tickets typically have to be tickets with a penalty over $1,000, but they can also be issued if it is in the public interest to do so. The standard of whether something is “in the public interest” is quite broad and can be met even if the specified penalty is low. For example, an individual who repeatedly has a dog at-large and who has been provided with a number of Part 3 dog at-large tickets could eventually be given a Part 2 dog at-large ticket given the repetition of the offence. Issuing provincial violation tickets as Part 2 Tickets provides a municipality with enhanced procedural authority that is not available for Part 3 Tickets.

First, Part 2 Tickets come with a requirement that the accused person must attend court appearances, failing which, a warrant can eventually be issued for their arrest. Second, if a municipality is ultimately successful in prosecuting a Part 2 Ticket, the accused is found guilty of the offence, and is ordered to pay the specified penalty, but then fails to pay the penalty on time, the Court can impose “days in default”, which are days that the accused must spend in prison as an alternative to paying the fine. This is not available for a Part 3 Ticket.

Part 2 Tickets are viewed as being more serious and, therefore, carry more serious consequences.

By contrast, Part 3 Tickets have lower fines and attract less serious consequences. If tickets are pursued as Part 3 Tickets then the warrant for arrest and incarceration options disappear. If the accused does not attend a court appearance, though, a municipality has the ability to ask that they be convicted of the offence in their absence and the fine specified in the bylaw will be ordered. This option is only available for Part 3 Tickets and is not available for Part 2 Tickets.

If a municipality is ultimately successful with a Part 3 Ticket, the accused is found guilty, is ordered to pay the specified penalty, but then fails to pay, the fine can be converted into a judgment which the municipality then has to enforce in the same way a typical judgment debt is enforced.

From the perspective of collecting fines, Part 3 Tickets are better than Part 2 Tickets. From a deterrence and punishment perspective, Part 2 Tickets are typically more effective. However, while Part 3 Tickets will always be appropriate, Part 2 Tickets may not be. Municipalities still need to be aware of the limitations of issuing a Part 2 Ticket and must be sure that the circumstances actually support doing so.

To access Alberta Municipalities Casual Legal Helpline, Alberta Municipalities members can call 1-800-661-7673 or send an casuallegal [at] abmunis.ca (email) to reach the municipal legal experts at Reynolds Mirth Richards and Farmer LLP. For more information on the Casual Legal Service, please call 310-MUNI (6864) or send an riskcontrol [at] abmunis.ca (email) to speak to Alberta Municipalities Risk Management staff. Any Regular or Associate member of Alberta Municipalities can access the Casual Legal Service.

DISCLAIMER: This article is meant to provide information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should seek the advice of legal counsel to address your specific set of circumstances. Although every effort has been made to provide current and accurate information, changes to the law may cause the information in this article to be outdated.