Since the start of the issuance of violation tickets for non-compliance with health measures, several Internet users have claimed that they did not intend to pay them. However, the figures prove the opposite and court rulings show that few who have dispute it have won their case.
In the region, disputes take place in the criminal chamber at the Valleyfield courthouse. It is possible to learn that of the 179 tickets that were issued in the Beauharnois district, 98 citizens decided to contest, therefore at the same time, require a trial.
In total, as of January 31st , 16 citizens have pleaded guilty and paid the violation ticket, 22 have paid without registering a plea, 34 are in default of pleading within the legal time limits and 9 tickets are awaiting plea.
The 98 citizens who have decided to go to trial will have to appear before the judge. If found guilty, they will see $ 99 added to the original amount of $ 1,546. On social media, several Internet users posted photos of a letter indicating that the ticket received had been cancelled. However, very few letters of this kind have been sent.
Two types of tickets
Fines and citations can be issued to violators of sanitary measures. In Beauharnois, 115 fines and 64 citations were issued.
As Me Audrey Roy Cloutier, spokesperson and responsible for media relations at the Bureau des mandats organisationnels (BMO), explains that citations are analyzed before they are sent.
“For this kind of ticket, there is a factual investigation and the file is then submitted to a prosecutor, says Me Roy Cloutier. After analyzing the file, the ticket is served. If it isn’t, the person receives a letter.”
Invoke the charter
Me Roy Cloutier assures us that the tickets which have been submitted cannot be invalidated solely by invoking the charter. That there was no invalidity on constitutional grounds.
“People who wish to obtain a trial to make their arguments are entitled to do so”, concludes Me Audrey Roy Cloutier.
