More than seven months after province-wide COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, new data from ICBC reveals less than one-third of fines issued for violating public health orders have been paid.
From breaking previous event or social gathering rules to not wearing masks during mandates, 2,909 provincial COVID-19-related tickets have been issued as of Nov. 3 – for a total of $2,016,333 in fines.
But according to ICBC, which is responsible for collecting COVID-19 fines on behalf of the provincial government, only 921 tickets – or just under 32 per cent – have been paid, generating $503,777 in fines for the province.
“There isn’t much of a mechanism for government to enforce collection of unpaid COVID fines beyond restricting somebody’s ability to purchase car insurance or renew their driver’s licence,” said lawyer Kyla Lee of Acumen Law.
Since July 2021, Refuse to Issue (RTI) can be applied to COVID-19 violation tickets allowing ICBC to not renew a person’s driver’s licence, permit, or vehicle licence and plates until their outstanding fine is paid.
“The reality is, at some point, you will pay that fine,” said Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
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Two-hundred-and-fifty-two tickets or nine per cent are currently being disputed in court while 1,162, or 40 per cent, have been deemed guilty with $610,223 in fines owed.
ICBC sends unpaid provincial ticket files directly to collections as soon as the initial 30-day payment or dispute period ends, or if someone is found guilty in court, and the province said collection agencies will be pursuing outstanding tickets.
“They don’t get to thumb their nose at the people of this province and get away with it,” Farnworth told Global News in an interview Saturday.
Five-hundred-and-seventy-four COVID-19 tickets or 20 per cent have either been cancelled or the person found not guilty, or are still in progress – and neither paid nor disputed.
Those in the age group of 20 to 29 were the most prolific alleged offenders with 847 tickets — about 29 per cent of the total. Those between 30 and 39 made up 23 per cent with 672 tickets, and residents between 50 and 59 made up 14 per cent with 415 tickets altogether.
People 80 years of age or older had the fewest tickets — 10 altogether — while those 70 to 79 years old had 49 tickets. Fifty-one tickets are on file for alleged offenders under the age of 18.
One-hundred-and-eighty-three of the tickets went to organizations, clubs, restaurants and other non-individual alleged offenders.
With pandemic restrictions lifted, Lee said prosecution may no longer be in the public interest.
“The law has no longer been in effect for quite some time and so people don’t really see the point of it anymore.”
Lee also said the cost of issuing the tickets and all the enforcement actions will far outweigh what is ultimately collected by the province as general revenue.
“So we will effectively see a deficit from enforcing COVID-related tickets.”
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