OHTA.ca

Hey, I just received notice via mail that my licence was suspended for having an unpaid fine. I was convicted of having an obstructed licence plate. I made an incorrect assumption that I could just pay the fine when I renewed my licence plates like I did when I was living in Alberta. I take responsibility for my actions.

Tomorrow morning I'll be going down to a courthouse to pay the outstanding fine. It's my understanding that I then need to go to an MTO or Service Ontario office to reinstate my licence 4-5 business days later, where I will have to pay an additional $150 reinstatement fee.

I'm not thrilled about that, but it is what it is and it's my own fault that it got this far.

My question on this:

This fine was not related to a driving violation since it's a problem with the vehicle. Will the suspension affect my car insurance? Or does the suspension disappear from my record upon payment since it wasn't related to a driving offence? Thanks.

Unfortunately yes, it can impact your insurance rates. Insurance providers simply look at the fact that you had a suspension due to an unpaid fine, not what the fine was for. Even the conviction for obstructed plate can impact your rates, since Ontario insurance providers look at all convictions, not just driving specific ones.

That's unfortunate. I'll have to chalk this up as a lesson learned.