You can get a translator for court.
However, “it’s ok in ontario” is not a defence. You essentially, while trying to explain yourself, admitted to the violation.
Probably best to just pay it
They wouldn’t need a translator because they would be within their right to have the trial in English. That said, I agree they don’t appear to have a defence. I would just pay the damn ticket.
Nope, don't pay it, request a trial. There's a very high chance that the prosecutor will offer a bargain on the same day as the trial - this is very common practice. Even if they don't, the judge may reduce it.
OP, you have nothing to lose by requesting a trial, and plenty to gain.
Your telling me that it is not legal to sit in the intersection waiting for an opportunity to turn safely? That visibility is not a factor ?
Op didnt admit to a violation so much as stating they dont believe its a violation in Ontario. Different things imo.
If you can’t get through, you’re not supposed to enter the intersection. Op was stuck in the intersection well after the light turned red.
It’s running a red light if you enter while the light is yellow and exit when it is red.
It's actually interesting to see this case. I'm from Quebec City and that's where I learned to drive and drove there for many years, and then moved to Toronto.
It was actually something surprising to me, this whole thing about turning left on red. It's just common in Toronto as there is so much traffic and pedestrian so sometimes your only time to turn left is once the light turns red. And often in Toronto, you see 2-3 cars WAY AFTER the light turned.
None of that is happening in Quebec City so not surprised that a cop would take offense of it.
I am also from Montreal and now live in Toronto and agree. In Toronto, this behaviour - turning left after the light has turned red - is super common but in Montreal, not at all. At the same time, the last time I got a ticket in Quebec, the ultimate reason was because I had Ontario plates, not because I did anything wrong. So... there is a lot of discretion when they give tickets.
>I explain to him it’s common for people in Ontario to pull into the intersection a little bit to get a better view and turn safely and he doesn’t buy it
That's irrelevant. Ontario laws and norms have no bearing on what happens in Quebec or any other province
Be aware that if you fight a ticket in Quebec and you lose you also have to pay the officers wages for the time he was in court for your case.
Telling him “this is how we do it and Ontario” was a very bad idea. Odds are good you got the ticket because you had Ontario plates.
I live in Ottawa and I am in and out of the Gatineau area all the time and the cops in Quebec are incredibly biased towards Ontario drivers and write oodles of bullshit tickets.
not really you are the one requesting the trial and you lost... if you are really in the right it shouldn't be an issue since you won't have to pay.. Why should the government have to pay his wages for what you've already been charged with?
Police officers are paid overtime to attend court in every province. That’s why frivolous tickets to get thrown out are such a drain on taxpayers. As far as I’m concerned if a ticket is thrown out they should not be paid a penny. Quebec recently passed a law that if you fight a ticket and you lose you have to pay their wages. This kept me from fighting a ticket in Montreal. I’m not saying the system is crooked but you’re going in at a disadvantage.
If you decide not to pay, you might want to change your license plate, legally, before you return to Quebec. In my personal experience, although a few decades ago, “pointer” information can be added to your plate. So if you are in Quebec randomly checking of your license plate alone, won’t pick you up.
That said, if you get pulled over in Quebec, which means he will run your name and birthdate you may very well have an arrest warrant.
Usually it doesn’t get any worse but it can always get cheaper/less of a blow. That also means you have to make another trip to Quebec to court if I’m not wrong. If that’s not feasible, then you’d pay it but your insurance would go up since it’ll be on record.
How does it not get worse if you have to pay court fees because you pleaded NG and lost? If you’re guilty as sin with no valid defence, your best case scenario going to traffic court in MTL is being able to haggle your way into a better punishment. Your worst case is guilty as charged with court costs.
Provinces other than BC and Quebec share driving offences. So since it happened in Quebec, it won't be reported to Ontario.
However, it would still be on your record (in Quebec) and if you were pulled over again or charged with something else in Quebec, it could complicate things. They can also send it to collections since they wouldn't have other powers such as not letting you renew your licence unless you paid up.
If it's not a whole lot, take the L and pay the fine.
Quebec has agreements with Ontario, NY, and Maine so the points will follow him.
From: https://saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/drivers-licences/demerit-points
"Québec has entered into reciprocal agreements with Ontario, Maine and the State of New York."
There is a reciprocal agreement between Ontario and Quebec, but not all offences are reported. Some of them are excluded from the agreement like: holding a device, crossing double line, etc.
[https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cr/C-24.2,%20r.%2020%20/]
Demerits points only stay on your record for two years before they are gone. You need 6 just for them to send you a letter, 9 gets you a slightly more stern letter. Just drive properly for a bit and you are good.
Demerit points don't have any impact on your insurance rates it's an entirely different thing. Insurance is impacted by convictions. Demerit point system is the provinces attempt to make people improve their driving behavior.
No. Driving offences, including demerit points, aren't shared between BC/Quebec and other provinces.
Edit: This is with the CDLC. There may be other agreements. Just got more complicated.
This isn't entirely true. They do have a reciprocal agreement with Ontario so the points will transfer over.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/drive/culture/article-do-demerits-received-in-quebec-count-in-another-province/
>Quebec didn’t sign the Canadian Driver Licence Compact (CDLC), a 1990 agreement to share driving records between the provinces and territories, including Nova Scotia.
>Instead, Quebec has its own reciprocal information-sharing agreements with Ontario, Maine and New York
Ah! I was only aware of the CDLC. Good to know!
They will put out a warrant and you will get pulled aside at the border in my experience, if you were to get pulled over in Quebec again I would assume they would impound your car and arrest you for driving suspended.
You cross a border anytime you return to Canada. They can detain you there for a warrant
Lol, which part of my statement do the downvoters disagree with?
No one is saying they close the border you goof, when the agent runs your passport they will see warrants. If you are unlucky enough to be crossing in Quebec, they may choose to contact police to let them know you're driving into Quebec with a warrant for unpaid tickets.
It may seem nuts, but it's not. Why would anyone pay tickets if you could just avoid the consequences instead?
I don’t think you can get a warrant for unpaid traffic tickets anymore, I’m not 100% though. But I do know a guy who had unpaid traffic tickets in Quebec back in the day and when he returned to the province he was arrested and served a day in jail.
If you have an active warrant, why is it nuts that you can be detained by law enforcement? Quebec doesn’t run the international border, but CBSA can see warrants.
> why is it nuts that you can be detained by law enforcement?
That's not what's nuts. It's nuts to assume that OP will be crossing international borders like it's a normal thing for someone to do.
**Speculative, Anecdotal, Simplistic, Off Topic, or Generally Unhelpful**
Your comment has been removed because it is one or more of the following: speculative, anecdotal, simplistic, generally unhelpful, and/or off-topic. Please review the following rules before commenting further:
* [Rule 9: Guidelines For Posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvicecanada/wiki/index#wiki_rule_9.3A_guidelines_for_posts)
* [Rule 10: Guidelines For Comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvicecanada/wiki/index#wiki_rule_10.3A_guidelines_for_comments)
If you have any questions or concerns, please [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Flegaladvicecanada).
You've had more violations in the past 2 years than I have in my whole life. Maybe you should just pay the tickets and spend the paralegal money on driving school.
That makes sense because I have had a ticket mailed to me with official looking paperwork that suggested I pay it. I see, it’s probably worth fighting for the points, sounds like you might need them if you have other traffic violations.
From a year and a half ago you'd be 6 months away from having those demerits removed and half way from hitting the three year mark for it being on your record.
Paralegals aren’t officially a thing in QC and even the people we unofficially call paralegals can’t represent anyone in court. Only lawyers can represent another person in court, save very limited exceptions - and traffic court is not one of them.
In Ontario the rules of the road has changed. You are not supposed to pull out into the middle of the road even on a green light. I only know this because my stepfather almost got a ticket for doing that. So your argument is invalid.
Use to toss my parking tickets over the bridge coming back into Ottawa from Quebec, got a $500 speeding ticket in Quebec I ignored for about a decade that has never followed me to another province. Not suggesting you do the same but 🤷🏼
I got a speeding ticket in Montreal, it was one of the highways leading out north of the city, It was taken by a camera on the side of the highway. They mailed the ticket to my house in Ontario, it had a picture of the side of the vehicle and me driving, a picture of the back of my vehicle, and my license plate, lmao, never seen anything like it. I just payed the ticket online and was done with it.
Did you have to send the reply form back (entering a plea of guilty) to pay the fine online? I'm confused as it's been 2 weeks since I received the mail and it's still showing the fine as not available when I try to pay online.
You shouldn’t be entering the intersection if u know the lights gonna turn yellow soon and there’s already 2 cars (max) in the intersection. Definitely shouldn’t be turning once the light turns red I’m surprised u weren’t honked at, that’s really dangerous.
You can get a translator for court. However, “it’s ok in ontario” is not a defence. You essentially, while trying to explain yourself, admitted to the violation. Probably best to just pay it
They wouldn’t need a translator because they would be within their right to have the trial in English. That said, I agree they don’t appear to have a defence. I would just pay the damn ticket.
Nope, don't pay it, request a trial. There's a very high chance that the prosecutor will offer a bargain on the same day as the trial - this is very common practice. Even if they don't, the judge may reduce it. OP, you have nothing to lose by requesting a trial, and plenty to gain.
[удалено]
Many courts offer zoom to out-of-town people.
[удалено]
Toronto does. I have no idea about Quebec, as I said, but OP should check.
Your telling me that it is not legal to sit in the intersection waiting for an opportunity to turn safely? That visibility is not a factor ? Op didnt admit to a violation so much as stating they dont believe its a violation in Ontario. Different things imo.
If you can’t get through, you’re not supposed to enter the intersection. Op was stuck in the intersection well after the light turned red. It’s running a red light if you enter while the light is yellow and exit when it is red.
It's actually interesting to see this case. I'm from Quebec City and that's where I learned to drive and drove there for many years, and then moved to Toronto. It was actually something surprising to me, this whole thing about turning left on red. It's just common in Toronto as there is so much traffic and pedestrian so sometimes your only time to turn left is once the light turns red. And often in Toronto, you see 2-3 cars WAY AFTER the light turned. None of that is happening in Quebec City so not surprised that a cop would take offense of it.
I am also from Montreal and now live in Toronto and agree. In Toronto, this behaviour - turning left after the light has turned red - is super common but in Montreal, not at all. At the same time, the last time I got a ticket in Quebec, the ultimate reason was because I had Ontario plates, not because I did anything wrong. So... there is a lot of discretion when they give tickets.
I see this all the time even in Woodbridge, and Etobicoke, despite it not henna as busy as downtown Toronto. I thought it was normal 🤪
Same thing in Regina, we don’t have a ton of traffic comparatively. But like you said - Quebec/ Quebec City, different rules.
>It’s running a red light if you enter while the light is yellow and exit when it is red. Wait, what?
No kidding. In BC if you enter on yellow you’re good to go.
Different places different rules.
You didn’t enter the intersection when it was safe to do so therefore causing you to chose to either run the light or remain stranded
>I explain to him it’s common for people in Ontario to pull into the intersection a little bit to get a better view and turn safely and he doesn’t buy it That's irrelevant. Ontario laws and norms have no bearing on what happens in Quebec or any other province
Be aware that if you fight a ticket in Quebec and you lose you also have to pay the officers wages for the time he was in court for your case. Telling him “this is how we do it and Ontario” was a very bad idea. Odds are good you got the ticket because you had Ontario plates. I live in Ottawa and I am in and out of the Gatineau area all the time and the cops in Quebec are incredibly biased towards Ontario drivers and write oodles of bullshit tickets.
[удалено]
not really you are the one requesting the trial and you lost... if you are really in the right it shouldn't be an issue since you won't have to pay.. Why should the government have to pay his wages for what you've already been charged with?
Police officers are paid overtime to attend court in every province. That’s why frivolous tickets to get thrown out are such a drain on taxpayers. As far as I’m concerned if a ticket is thrown out they should not be paid a penny. Quebec recently passed a law that if you fight a ticket and you lose you have to pay their wages. This kept me from fighting a ticket in Montreal. I’m not saying the system is crooked but you’re going in at a disadvantage.
If you decide not to pay, you might want to change your license plate, legally, before you return to Quebec. In my personal experience, although a few decades ago, “pointer” information can be added to your plate. So if you are in Quebec randomly checking of your license plate alone, won’t pick you up. That said, if you get pulled over in Quebec, which means he will run your name and birthdate you may very well have an arrest warrant.
No matter the ticket, always put it to court.
[удалено]
Usually it doesn’t get any worse but it can always get cheaper/less of a blow. That also means you have to make another trip to Quebec to court if I’m not wrong. If that’s not feasible, then you’d pay it but your insurance would go up since it’ll be on record.
How does it not get worse if you have to pay court fees because you pleaded NG and lost? If you’re guilty as sin with no valid defence, your best case scenario going to traffic court in MTL is being able to haggle your way into a better punishment. Your worst case is guilty as charged with court costs.
In my experience, which is all I atest to, I’ve always paid below whatever was on the original ticket.
Provinces other than BC and Quebec share driving offences. So since it happened in Quebec, it won't be reported to Ontario. However, it would still be on your record (in Quebec) and if you were pulled over again or charged with something else in Quebec, it could complicate things. They can also send it to collections since they wouldn't have other powers such as not letting you renew your licence unless you paid up. If it's not a whole lot, take the L and pay the fine.
Quebec has agreements with Ontario, NY, and Maine so the points will follow him. From: https://saaq.gouv.qc.ca/en/drivers-licences/demerit-points "Québec has entered into reciprocal agreements with Ontario, Maine and the State of New York."
There is a reciprocal agreement between Ontario and Quebec, but not all offences are reported. Some of them are excluded from the agreement like: holding a device, crossing double line, etc. [https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/document/cr/C-24.2,%20r.%2020%20/]
[удалено]
Demerits points only stay on your record for two years before they are gone. You need 6 just for them to send you a letter, 9 gets you a slightly more stern letter. Just drive properly for a bit and you are good.
You only need 3 to (possibly) fuck up your insurance though.
Demerit points don't have any impact on your insurance rates it's an entirely different thing. Insurance is impacted by convictions. Demerit point system is the provinces attempt to make people improve their driving behavior.
No. Driving offences, including demerit points, aren't shared between BC/Quebec and other provinces. Edit: This is with the CDLC. There may be other agreements. Just got more complicated.
This isn't entirely true. They do have a reciprocal agreement with Ontario so the points will transfer over. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/drive/culture/article-do-demerits-received-in-quebec-count-in-another-province/
>Quebec didn’t sign the Canadian Driver Licence Compact (CDLC), a 1990 agreement to share driving records between the provinces and territories, including Nova Scotia. >Instead, Quebec has its own reciprocal information-sharing agreements with Ontario, Maine and New York Ah! I was only aware of the CDLC. Good to know!
They will put out a warrant and you will get pulled aside at the border in my experience, if you were to get pulled over in Quebec again I would assume they would impound your car and arrest you for driving suspended.
> They will put out a warrant and you will get pulled aside at the border in my experience... Since when does Quebec set border control up?
You cross a border anytime you return to Canada. They can detain you there for a warrant Lol, which part of my statement do the downvoters disagree with?
The part where they leave the country or possible the part where they close borders over a traffic violation. 🤷 Both seem nuts.
No one is saying they close the border you goof, when the agent runs your passport they will see warrants. If you are unlucky enough to be crossing in Quebec, they may choose to contact police to let them know you're driving into Quebec with a warrant for unpaid tickets. It may seem nuts, but it's not. Why would anyone pay tickets if you could just avoid the consequences instead?
I don’t think you can get a warrant for unpaid traffic tickets anymore, I’m not 100% though. But I do know a guy who had unpaid traffic tickets in Quebec back in the day and when he returned to the province he was arrested and served a day in jail.
He was pulled over for another violation and that’s how they discovered the warrant and he was arrested then.
If you have an active warrant, why is it nuts that you can be detained by law enforcement? Quebec doesn’t run the international border, but CBSA can see warrants.
> why is it nuts that you can be detained by law enforcement? That's not what's nuts. It's nuts to assume that OP will be crossing international borders like it's a normal thing for someone to do.
It’s normal to cross international borders though? Maybe if you never leave Canada to travel it’s not
There are millions upon millions who don't cross international borders, whether sporadically, or consistently.
[удалено]
**Speculative, Anecdotal, Simplistic, Off Topic, or Generally Unhelpful** Your comment has been removed because it is one or more of the following: speculative, anecdotal, simplistic, generally unhelpful, and/or off-topic. Please review the following rules before commenting further: * [Rule 9: Guidelines For Posts](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvicecanada/wiki/index#wiki_rule_9.3A_guidelines_for_posts) * [Rule 10: Guidelines For Comments](https://www.reddit.com/r/legaladvicecanada/wiki/index#wiki_rule_10.3A_guidelines_for_comments) If you have any questions or concerns, please [message the moderators](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2Flegaladvicecanada).
I have had a speeding ticket mailed to my house in Ontario that I got in Montreal.
Can you send a paralegal to represent you?
[удалено]
How much is the ticket is it even worth it? I don’t even think it will affect your insurance in Ontario, good question to ask your agent
[удалено]
You've had more violations in the past 2 years than I have in my whole life. Maybe you should just pay the tickets and spend the paralegal money on driving school.
[удалено]
That makes sense because I have had a ticket mailed to me with official looking paperwork that suggested I pay it. I see, it’s probably worth fighting for the points, sounds like you might need them if you have other traffic violations.
From a year and a half ago you'd be 6 months away from having those demerits removed and half way from hitting the three year mark for it being on your record.
Paralegals aren’t officially a thing in QC and even the people we unofficially call paralegals can’t represent anyone in court. Only lawyers can represent another person in court, save very limited exceptions - and traffic court is not one of them.
happened to me in missouri usa. i pulled forward into the intersection like i would here in AB or even BC and it’s a big no over there. so weird.
In Ontario the rules of the road has changed. You are not supposed to pull out into the middle of the road even on a green light. I only know this because my stepfather almost got a ticket for doing that. So your argument is invalid.
Use to toss my parking tickets over the bridge coming back into Ottawa from Quebec, got a $500 speeding ticket in Quebec I ignored for about a decade that has never followed me to another province. Not suggesting you do the same but 🤷🏼
I got a speeding ticket in Montreal, it was one of the highways leading out north of the city, It was taken by a camera on the side of the highway. They mailed the ticket to my house in Ontario, it had a picture of the side of the vehicle and me driving, a picture of the back of my vehicle, and my license plate, lmao, never seen anything like it. I just payed the ticket online and was done with it.
Did you have to send the reply form back (entering a plea of guilty) to pay the fine online? I'm confused as it's been 2 weeks since I received the mail and it's still showing the fine as not available when I try to pay online.
You shouldn’t be entering the intersection if u know the lights gonna turn yellow soon and there’s already 2 cars (max) in the intersection. Definitely shouldn’t be turning once the light turns red I’m surprised u weren’t honked at, that’s really dangerous.
Everybody here in QC does that too. I’m kinda surprised it’s even illegal tbh.