The British Columbia government has announced that drivers with unpaid COVID-19 fines may be barred from renewing their licences.
New legislation introduced Tuesday could give the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) the authority to deny the renewal of driver’s or vehicle licences of people with outstanding fines handed out under the Emergency Program Act and COVID-19 Related Measures Act.
Since the first fines were imposed in August, the province has given out about 1,700 COVID-19 related tickets, amounting to nearly $1.18 million, but only 14%, or under $173,000, of the total figure has been paid as of May 8, according to a report by Coastal Mountain News.
“That small minority of persons who have been fined for violating the rules in place to protect us all are going to be held accountable for the debt they owe,” Mike Farnworth, public safety minister, told Coastal Mountain News. “We’ve already moved up the deadline for sending unpaid COVID-19 fines to collections. Now, we’re going to refuse to issue offenders a driver’s licence or vehicle licence if they still won’t take their tickets seriously and pay up.”
The ICBC started sending unpaid fines to collection agencies after 30 days last December. Typically, violation tickets only go to collections after 12 months. Farnworth added that the new rules will apply to unpaid federal quarantine tickets. If passed, the proposed legislation is scheduled to come into force on July 1.
Under current regulations, the Crown corporation can also refuse to renew the licences of people who do not meet child support payments or have outstanding motor vehicle fines. Those under financial hardship, meanwhile, have the option of asking the court to lower their fines or working with the ICBC to come up with a payment plan.
