Quote:
Originally Posted by Makarov
Criminal charges are not initiated by serving a ticket (offence notice). Those are regulatory offences under the Highway Traffic Act. They are not criminal offences under the Criminal Code of Canada. They are an entirely different type of offence and the vast majority might be described as offences of "negligence" (in the sense that the accused may avoid conviction by proving due diligence [ie, non-negligence]).
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I don't know where to go here.... you are both right and wrong. You could be issued a ticket that says "Court" in the penalty box - these could lead to larger fines and/or even prison time - and of course the police have up to 6 months to charge you with more. I guess we're arguing over an incident or offense under the Highway Traffic Act - so you're right in that case. Since the vast majority of these "offense notices" (read that for a second - that sounds serious) are minor, the Act likes to call them "incidents" to lessen the harshness of the offense, and it doesn't effect your "criminal record"... but all these things can under the Act... there is a degree built in to them.
Let me explain: try driving without insurance, you can be given a ticket ("offence notice") with the word "court" on it... many years ago, your first offense would have $600 written in - you could just pay that and be done with it - but now, I think a judge needs to hear the case, and I think the fine was raised to $1,500 some years ago and is now $2,500 (I could be wrong)... anyhow, the judge has so much power here if you're found guilty... he can fine you and let it walk as an "incident" so to speak - with no criminally consequence (i.e. no criminal record)... he can even send you to jail, it all depends (usually your first offense is treated better) on the circumstances and your attitude and ability to pay the fine.