“Help!! Licence Suspended - Need Advice Asap Please”

I really need advice!! My licence has been suspended and I'm completely panicked since I need my car for work. Here's the situation:

I got a ticket last year for driving while using my cellphone. I filed to go to court and the court date was at the end of March. Unfortunately the date was a few days after my dad passed away suddenly so my head was somewhere else and I completely forgot about court. I didn't even realize that I missed the court date until I got my conviction notice in the mail. So stupid me, I had alot of things going on and I missed the fine due date (which was only about a week from the date that I got the notice). But I didn't think it was a big deal and thought that they would just send another reminder letter.

So today I got a notice from MTO saying my licence has been suspended for not paying the fine!!!! It says that I need to stop driving immediately, return my licence to MTO and pay the $150 reinstatement fine.

I'm really upset because I need my car for work. I know it was a stupid thing to do but I honestly had no idea that my licence could be suspended for this. I've been driving for over 10 years and have only had 1 minor offence. No demerit points. No speeding tickets. Nothing. This just seems so harsh and I'm so upset. Having a car is part of the condition of my work. If I can't drive, I can't do my job and my boss will kill me. I'm just on contract so I could totally see her letting me go because of this. Alot of places that I travel to are far and just not accessible by public transportation.

Is there anything I can do to get my licence back sooner???? Any exceptions at all? I really cannot be without my car for a week. I don't even really understand the process. Do I mail in my driver's licence or go to Min. of Transportation?? And then once I pay the $150 they mail me a new one? That's going to take forever. Don't they normally send a warning notice to saying that your licence will be suspended if you don't pay the fine? I only just got the notice of fine and due date and then this. Is that how it normally works?

If you have any advice or can just explain the process a bit more I'd be really grateful. Thank you.

If you pay the fine at the court, you can reinstate your license in about 4 days (it takes that long to notify the MTO). You can then go to a ServiceOntario and get a temporary driver's license (after paying $150) until they mail you a new license card.

Maybe time to get the flu LOL