Parking Fine Process
Most motorists regard a parking fine to be a trivial matter, but in Manitoba unsatisfied parking and traffic offences can escalate rapidly into very serious legal issues. Penalties for unsatisfied parking tags range from doubling of fines up to an including seizure of your vehicle!
VOLUNTARY PAYMENT
Day 1-15: Once they are made aware that they have committed an offence under the law, most motorists prefer to enter a plea of GUILTY and voluntarily pay the fine with no further action taken, within two weeks of the date of the offence notice. During this period, the Parking Authority may review the Summons at your request to ensure accuracy. If you have a question regarding why you were given the tag, or if you would like us to review the offence for accuracy, please send a written Request for Administrative Review outlining pertinent facts. Information on submitting a Request for Administrative Review can be found here.
Payment of the fine is a voluntary GUILTY plea and as a result, once payment is made a Request for Review can not be processed.
If a motorist wishes to plead "NOT GUILTY" to the charge and seek mitigation or clemency, he/she is required to attend 495 Portage Avenue to have their ticket stamped and then appear before a Justice at the Provincial Court, 373 Broadway, Winnipeg, Manitoba between the hours of 09:00 and 16:00 on any working day within 15 days of the date the parking violation occurred. If you do not have proof of attendance at 495 Portage or submission of a request for review, the Provincial Court will not allow you to appear before a Justice.
Information on the process at Provincial Court is available here.
Voluntary payment will be accepted at:
|
Winnipeg Parking Authority
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
We accept cash, cheques, money orders, Visa, Mastercard, American Express or debit card.
For your convenience payment can be dropped off at one of our drop box locations located at our Civic Parkade – 171 Princess St., Millenium Library Parkade – 251 Donald St., or our office at 495 Portage Avenue. PLEASE DO NOT DEPOSIT CASH
If there is a LIEN on your vehicle, payment may ONLY be made to Hook Ventures Inc. at either 75 Lowson Crescent or 341 Stanley Street, seven days a week, 24 hours per day.
To pay by telephone call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Credit card transactions received after normal business hours may be processed the next business day. Responsibility for early payment option within 15 days of issuance date rests with the customer.
Telephone and on-line payments accept Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
All fines must be paid in full. Late payments will be processed and the outstanding balance will remain owing. The City will not accept post-dated cheques. Under the Provincial Summary Convictions Act, even a partial payment of a fine is considered a guilty plea and the outstanding balance of the fine remains owing.
DISPUTE, COLLECTION AND SEIZURE
After Day 16, a Notice of Default Conviction will be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle assigning an additional two weeks to pay or plead "Not Guilty" on the ticket. To simplify matters for the public, the WPA issues comprehensive account statements on a monthly basis. Fifteen (15) days after the receipt of a Notice of Default Conviction, all fees and fines, including escalated fines, will be deemed fully payable. A lien will be placed on the property of the owner of the offending vehicle and that property may be seized and sold at auction. In addition, the City may request the convicted owner be denied renewal of license plates and/or driver’s licenses until the fines are paid.
Please note that, when a lien is placed on a vehicle, and the vehicle is privately sold, the lien remains on the vehicle and the fines are still payable. Prior to making a purchase of any used vehicle, we suggest that you check for any lien encumbrances with the Personal Property Registry at 405 Broadway, phone 945-3123.
Towing
Towing by the City
Under the Traffic By-Law, the City of Winnipeg may order the removal of a vehicle from a public street for a number of offences, including obstruction of traffic, snow plows, private driveways and approaches, and parking without authorization.
The City may also order the removal of a vehicle under the following by-laws:
- Streets By-Law; derelict or abandoned vehicles on City streets, even when parked legally;
- Private Parking By-Law; unauthorized vehicles on City property; and
- Neighbourhood Livability By-Law; derelict vehicles on private property.
All vehicles that are removed the City of Winnipeg are ticketed for the relevant offence, and towed by the City’s contractor to a storage area. At present, the City’s contractor is Dr. Hook Towing and vehicles are stored at their secure impound lots until towing and storage charges are paid by the vehicle owner.
Towing on Private Property
Towing from private property is governed by the Private Parking By-Law. This by-law allows a property owner to request the removal of an unauthorized vehicle from their property as long as the appropriate signs have been properly posted, as outlined in the by-law.
Further Information
The Traffic By-Law, the Private Parking By-Law and other City of Winnipeg by-laws can be viewed online through the City Clerk’s office website here.
For more information on what happens when a car is towed, please consult the Winnipeg Police Service ‘Rules for Towing’ page here.