Toronto, Ontario — York Regional Police Officers have been issuing tickets for expired vehicle permits amid the COVID-19 outbreak, even though the provincial government has extended the period for which they are valid. So far officers have issued hundreds of tickets throughout the region.
According to the departement, the tickets have been given at the discretion of the individual officer issuing the ticket. Some officers maintain they have no knowledge of the province extending sticker permits.
Drivers will have the option to fight the tickets in court.
On June 29, Service Ontario reminded drivers of the extended timeline by taking to twitter with the statement “Reminder: Your licence plate sticker is valid! Learn more about extensions for driver’s licenses and vehicle services due to COVID-19…” followed by a link to the government’s original announcement of the extension.
The reason for the extension is to limit the amount of in-person visits to Service Ontario locations. The validation period has been extended for not only licence plate stickers but also drivers licences, Ontario photo cards and commercial operator registration certificates.
Documents that expired on or after March 1, 2020 will remain valid and legal past the expiry until further notice.
People who have confronted officers about the tickets have been told that officers are not aware of an extension and that people should be able to validate their licences online. They are also told they will have to fight it in court.
Since March 1, officers have issued roughly 900 tickets to drivers for “permits that have not been validated”. Last year 2,600 tickets were issued for the same offence.
Many people lost their jobs due to COVID-19 and for many renewing their licence plate stickers isn’t at the top of their concerns. Many people have complained about the tickets being issued even though Service Ontario and the government of Ontario stated the licence plate was still valid.
