Bill 40 was introduced in the National Assembly last week with the aim of speeding up the processing of parking ticket disputes and reducing congestion in the province’s municipal courts.
Specifically aimed at reforming local courts and improving the efficiency, accessibility and performance of the justice system, the law would allow administrative decision-makers to handle disputes, freeing up more time for judges.
“72% of all cases in the Montreal Municipal Court are appeals,” explains MP and parliamentary assistant to the Ministry of Justice, Kariane Bourassa. We want to release this block of files and have it processed by the administrative decision-makers. So they will no longer be judges.”
Archive photo, QMI Agency
A similar system already exists in Ontario.
A person who wants to dispute a ticket that changes its name to “SAP” or “administrative fine” must call a special line and explain the situation to an examiner, who can decide whether to cancel the ticket.
“If he doesn’t cancel the fine […] You can make an appointment in person or via video conference […] This will not necessarily fall on working hours, explains the member for Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré. At that point, administrative decision-makers will listen to you and decide whether or not you deserve this new type of fine.”
For example, the government wants to prevent a person who believes they have been fined in error from paying their fine simply because they are unable to appear in court on the specified date.
“We know to what extent every dollar in a family’s wallet counts, especially in an inflationary context,” adds the parliamentary assistant. That’s why we want to prevent people from wasting hours and days going to court and taking action when there is ultimately an easier way.”
Quebec’s 89 municipal courts will therefore have more time to deal with other files.
According to Kariane Bourassa, the city of Montreal estimates that five of 31 judges could be released.
Watch the full interview in the video above