I am shocked to find in the Fredericton Provincial Courts that by-law infractions are being treated as criminal offenses. Instead of the procedure for bringing an unpaid ticket to the courts I have repeatedly seen that the procedure for a criminal offense is used instead.
So what? You might say. Well, the big difference is, if you are dragged into court for a by-law ticket by way of an Information (Form 1 under the Provincial Offenses Procedures Act) then you can go to jail for non-payment of 25 cents for a parking ticket.
By-Law infractions are NOT criminal offenses. If you are issued a ticket by the police or City and do not pay it check out how they begin court process. Under the Provincial Offenses Procedures Act Ticket procedure is laid out from section 9 - 16. A Form 1 Information is only for non-ticket infractions and the correct way to bring someone to court for a ticket offense is by a Notice of Prosecution.
I have witnessed the City By-Law enforcement officers hand the Provincial Court Judge a pile of Form 1 Informations and swear to their validity, so the really disturbing aspect of this is that the judges in Fredericton, NB, are knowingly accepting the wrong paperwork for by-law ticket infractions.
This is stealth taxation by the City of Fredericton with the help of the courts.
No-one should be going to jail for a by-law infraction.
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