Timmins looks to write off $884K in unrecoverable fines

Timmins city council is expected to vote Tuesday evening whether to write off $884,628.61 in provincial offences fines that have been deemed unrecoverable. (File)

write-offs

The total includes 983 fines levied under the Provincial Offences Act. Provincial guidelines say that fines older than 10 years should be considered default and uncollectible for accounting purposes.

“The provincial offences department has a full-time collection agency and all collection methods have been utilized prior to processing the write-offs,” said a staff report on the plan.

“We do not book POA fines revenue until we collect the fines so there will be no financial impact on our books.”

The largest source of the fines is $588,961.65 levied under the Compulsory Automobile Insurance Act, which are often fines for not having proof of insurance when stopped by police.

There’s another $105,989.20 under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and $69,305.56 under the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.

A full list of the fines slated to be written off can be found here.