“Parking Ticket Not Properly Served?”

So here's my story:

2 days ago during the evening hours, while I was waiting for my child to get off class in a plaza along with other parents I saw a car drive up behind me. My child would be out any minute, and as there is an anti-idling law in Markham, I had turned my vehicle off but I left some light inside my vehicle on to indicate someone was inside. The other parent's cars in front of me usually do the same. It was dark, but I realized that there were sirens on top of the vehicle behind me so I thought it might be the parking authority so I started to drive away. As I did, the parking authority and other parents starting driving away too. I thought I had gotten away without them issuing a ticket as it lasted less than 3 minutes. The next day, I found taped to my home door an envelope with my name on it from the City of Markham with a parking ticket inside, citing that I had parked along a fire route the night before for $200.

My question is, is this not in complete violation of the Provincial Offences Act Section 15(4) and therefore should be dismissed? I was not issued the ticket at the time of the alleged infraction, and it was not delivered to me personally (I was home, but no one rang the bell, knocked on the door...etc), nor was it mailed to me. On the City of Markham site in the FAQ section on "How is a Penalty Notice Issued", it also says:

A City of Markham By-law Officer can issue a Penalty Notice for a Parking violation by:

Affixing it to the motor vehicle;

Serving personally to the driver at the time of the violation;

Delivering personally to the person as soon as reasonably possible;

Sending it by registered or regular mail to the persons last known address (which is considered served on the 7th day after it is mailed);

Sending it by fax to the persons last known fax number; or

Sending it by email to the persons last known email address.

Does anyone think that this is a sound argument to make based on the above points? Has anyone had a similar experience? I have already applied for a Screening Review, but would be great to hear some thoughts on this.

I'd also check the definition or parking. If you're in the vehicle are you parked?

I would definitely fight it. It says it needs to be delivered personally or mailed. Tape to your front door does not meet either of those criteria.

If you were in a plaza lot, it wasn't likely a bylaw officer representing the municipality. Likely a private security firm that has authority through the city to issue parking tickets.

Section 15(4) and 15(5) of the POA is very specific about how a part II can be served:

Service on owner

(4) The issuing provincial offences officer may serve the parking infraction notice on the owner of the vehicle identified in the notice,

(a) by affixing it to the vehicle in a conspicuous place at the time of the alleged infraction; or

(b) by delivering it personally to the person having care and control of the vehicle at the time of the alleged infraction.

Service on operator

(5) The issuing provincial offences officer may serve the parking infraction notice on the operator of a vehicle by delivering it to the operator personally at the time of the alleged infraction.

All options indicate that they must be served "at the time of the alleged infraction"

Unless I'm missed no something, the City of Marham can't issue I it any other way that's listed in that quote.

Markham uses an administrative monetary penalty system for handling parking tickets, which means that the Provincial Offences Act doesn't apply in this case. To see if this qualifies as proper service we have to look at Markham by-law 2015-93. Fortunately the city has been good enough to post this bylaw online for us. Section 6 outlines what constitutes proper service and it looks to me that this is at the very least a grey area as the bylaw doesn't mention dropping the ticket off at the alleged violator's house. I have attached a link to the Bylaw so that others can chime in and give their opinions.

Also, at the risk of editorializing, one of the problems I feel you are going to face is that it will be impossible to get this ticket in front of a real Judge. AMPs can only be reviewed by a Screening Officer and a Hearing Officer, both of whom are employees of the City. While I feel that the law is worded in such a way that you should win, I have no idea how these entities will rule. My gut tells me that they are less likely to stick to the letter of a law then a Justice of the Peace or Judge. Still I think it is probably worth filing for a review and see what happens.

I doubt this argument will work. The way you were served is not explicitly permitted in the regulation, it is permitted to be sent by regular mail, which is ultimately not a heck of a lot different from how you received it. It might be a defense if you never received it, but you clearly did and they will know that based on the fact that you applied for a screening meeting.

That said, I am not a lawyer, so who really knows.

Wow. Not a huge fan of this penalty system.

Private parking enforcement is a mess and should be clearly regulated. In my opinion agencies should be approved by the province to carry out enforcement and then issue Provincial parking tickets which would be dealt with in the proper manner.