“No By-law To Cover Reason For Parking Ticket”

I received a parking ticket in which the noted infraction does not even exist on a Saturday. The charge is for not displaying a receipt issued from the parking machine (but parking is free on the weekends and after 6 PM). I called the city's by-law department, and initially they looked into it once I told them that on the city's website the by-law document regarding traffic and parking does not state that you need to display a ticket except for Monday-Friday from 9-6, stat holidays and remembrance day. The city later called me back and said that there had been amendments that were not located on the website. I got all traffic and parking amendments from a different department (assuming they were not told to withhold any from me), and I haven't found any change for this section that would justify them giving me a ticket. They insist that there is some amendment that applies, yet when I asked the manager of the by-law department what amendment exactly I had infringed upon, they could not give me an answer and kept insisting I need to attend court to dispute the charge. The by-law department also does not keep by-law documents on hand for some reason, and pull them off the website too. The other factor is that I found out later that there is a sign saying that parking is free on weekends "except for events" yet I arrived an hour after any event had started, nor was there any indication that I had to pay anything (nobody manning the booth, and the parking machine just says "mon-fri" idea). The actual by-law cited does not mention having to display a ticket from the machine in this lot with exception to the noted days/times (which does not include Saturdays and does not mention events).

The exact citation is 11 (6) 2. (c) and the by-law document (minus amendments) is this document here: http://www.greatersudbury.ca/content/di ... 744929.pdf

Is there a way to resolve this without having to go to traffic court since the ticket should not even be valid since the cited infraction is invalid on a Saturday? (Our parking tickets are now all handled under the provincial offences act).

You'll likely need to attend court to resolve this. However, WRITE the prosecutor's office requesting a copy of the by-law/amendment beforehand. Do not rely on telephone conversations---put your requests in writing. That gives you a paper trail for evidence. Secondly, the amendment might exist---the website may just not be current. Publising laws on a website is not a legal requirement for a law to be valid. So, be aware of this. Don't assume the law doesn't exist---it may very well be applicable---however, you have the right to review it.

Thank you for the response. I did request and receive a number of amendments from the city that so far do not modify the by-law in a substantial way. I will write the prosecutor's office and request the same in case they are with-holding anything from me.