Traffic court changes placed on pause

By KENDALL KING, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on January 28, 2022.

kking@medicinehatnews.com

Implementation of Phase Two of the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act (now being referred to as SafeRoads Alberta by government officials), which would see the abolition of traffic court, was paused Thursday.

In a joint statement Transportation Minister Rajan Sawhney and acting Minister of Justice and Solicitor General, Sonya Savage, announced the legislation, which was set to begin on Feb. 1, will now be paused for a period of 90 to 120 days.

“We will take the next 90 to 120 days to ensure that we communicate and consult with Albertans and that they are educated on the changes proposed in Phase 2,” the statement reads. “We will listen to what Albertans have to say and we will share the benefits of these changes with them.”

Ken Montgomery, a court agent and paralegal at Power Loney in Medicine Hat, is happy to hear the legislation has been paused.

“I think they didn’t realize how serious the concerns and issues relating to this new legislation are,” Montgomery told the News. “The UCP snuck the legislation in, not thinking anybody would pay attention probably but now they’re paying attention. With all the other problems going on with the UCP and the Kenney leadership, I think (the UCP) thought, ‘If we stick with this, we’re going to get turfed at the next election.'”

Government officials cite a backlog within the provincial court system as the motivation behind Phase 2. legislation.

“Alberta’s court system is facing a significant backlog,” Thursday’s statement reads. “Every year, more than two million traffic tickets are issued in Alberta. Of those tickets, 400,000 are challenged. This results in more than 60,000 challenges to traffic tickets receiving court dates… That is not sustainable nor is it an efficient use of our valuable court resources.”

Regardless of the reasoning behind the legislation, Montgomery believes removing traffic court would be an infringement on an individual’s right to due process.

“This is Canada and under the Charter … you have the right to make full answer defence,” he said.

Montgomery is not the only individual to have spoken out against the legislation. More than 33,000 others (as of 5 p.m. Thursday) have signed a petition requesting to keep provincial traffic court. Montgomery hopes that number will grow in the coming weeks, as he believes it could help determine the outcome of the government’s 90-to-120-day legislation review.

“I’m very pleased to see that people are starting to pay attention to this and are appreciating how serious it is,” Montgomery said. “It’s important that people don’t just quit now. Voice your opinion, sign that petition and keep the pressure on. And research it; people should know… how bad it could really affect them.”

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