Ontarians fail to pay more than $350 million worth of fines related to invalid/false insurance cards

Ontarians have not paid more than $1 billion in Provincial Offences Act fines, and one-third of these fines relate to driving with invalid or false insurance cards, according to a white paper released on Nov. 9 by the Ontario Association of Police Services Boards (OAPSB).
“As of July 2010, the last year for which statistics are available, there were nearly 2.5 million unpaid POA fines totalling close to $1 billion, owed largely to Ontario municipalities,” a backgrounder to the white paper says. “Of the $1 billion in outstanding POA fines, approximately one-third relate to Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act convictions, another third to Highway Traffic Act convictions, and another third to other convictions (including violations of the Liquor Licence Act, Occupational Health and Safety Act, and Trespass to Property Act).”
The backgrounder shows the unpaid fines related to breaches of the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act total $354.3 million.
The association white paper contains a number of recommendations, including discounts for early payment and more severe penalties for those who do not pay (including license suspensions or car impoundment), making it more convenient for people to pay fines and improving the capability of municipalities to collect the fines.