Daily BrewOttawa hiring collection agency to go after federal fine deadbeats
Deadbeats beware, the Canadian government is getting serious about your unpaid fines. It's hiring a collection agency, so screen your calls and keep the shades drawn.
The Canadian Press reports Ottawa has posted a letter of interest on a web site for potential contractors revealing thousands of Canadians owe a total of $129 million in unpaid fines as of March 31.
"The (Public Prosecution Service of Canada) requires the services of firm or agency specialized in collection services," the letter says.
"Specific services of PPSC are required to collect outstanding federal fines owed to Canada, including Criminal Code fines, surcharges and court costs ordered with the federal fine at sentencing. This includes legal costs where applicable, using appropriate collection methods."
The document offers a revealing insight into the extent of this law-scoffing.
Some 2,009 people owed fines of more than $10,000, and 1,049 owned between $5,000 and $10,000. The letter lists almost 5,900 fine evaders owing less than $250, The Canadian Press reported.
The Atlantic provinces had the most unpaid fines, 6,618, followed by 4,129 in Alberta and 3,132 in Quebec.
Federal fines were handled under provincial law before September 1996, with provincial courts issuing warrants against those who failed to pay.
"No further action would be taken, and incarceration for unpaid fines was the most frequent consequence for default of payment," the letter says.
In 2002, Ottawa launched the National Fine Recovery Program to collect money from those convicted under federal law, administered by the Public Prosecution Service of Canada.
Small fine-recovery teams were set up in major Canadian cities, utilizing part-time prosecutors, paralegals and clerks. But funding for the program, which used a number of approaches including negotiation and wage garnishments to collect the money, ends in March, the letter says.
The prosecution service's most recent report says federal debt collectors recovered $56 million in unpaid fines since 2002 but only $5 million in 2010-11, most of them in the $5,000 range.
About 150 people were jailed in fiscal 2010-11 for refusing to pay their fines, the report adds.
While $129 million isn't exactly chump change, it pales in comparison to the estimated $25 billion in overdue taxes owed to Ottawa by individuals and businesses, according to a December 2010 report in the National Post based on figures tabled in the House of Commons.
The amount represented only a small portion of the $358 billion in taxes and duties processed in the previous year, a Canada Revenue Agency spokesman said.
