“Was Unaware Of Suspension Due To Unpaid Fine.”

So I was driving my car around 12AM and encountered issues resulting in the car stalling and police took notice. Apparently my license was suspended due to an unpaid fine (improper mudflaps) that I forgot about I received a court summons for driving while suspended.

The reason I was unaware of the suspension was because I had not updated my address when I moved. The lame excuse (though genuine) is that I had yet to update my address is because I had misplaced my health card and was unable to update the driver's license without the health card. As a result the notice would have been mailed to my previous address.

I literally paid the fine online less than 2 hours after being stopped in addition to the administrative fee for the license suspension

(I was able to get the reference number online for the suspension by ordering my driver's abstract for $12 via the MTO website)

So is it reasonable to assume that effective November 26th at 1:50AM my license is no longer suspended? After paying up I was given a PDF with a temporary license to print out and sign which I then verified was valid by reordering my driver's abstract a 2nd time.

Is my license now valid until my hearing in February?

While the $500ish dollars hurt to pay what I'm really worried about is the mandatory 6 month suspension and probable 6 months of jailtime considering this was effectively a paperwork error on my part.

Do I have any options to reduce the charge somehow? The reality is I don't think I'm a bad person as much as I'm just easily discouraged and confused. I paid right away when I was aware of the situation...even though I'm paycheck to paycheck and absolutely can't afford it. I'm going to have to cut back from 2 to just a single meal per day as it is just to get flush. I don't think I can afford to cut back anymore to afford a lawyer but being an uber driver I also can't afford to be suspended.

I'd lie if suicidal ideation hasn't reared its head but I do genuinely want to live...but I don't want to wind up homeless if not in prison and those seem like the only 2 ways this one will end for me right now if I live through it.