Traffic Ticket Advocates Professional Corporation – Chris Buckle 465 Davis Dr Suite 113 Newmarket, ON L3Y 7T9 905-898-0542 Reciprocal agreements between provinces and states Receiving a ticket out of province is as detrimental to one’s driving record as it would be in their home province. There was a time, long ago, when you could literally forget about any offences received out of your own province, including the United States. Those days are gone! As of April 1, 1989, Ontario and Quebec have a reciprocal agreement between the two provinces called the Ontario-Quebec Agreement. Ontario also has a separate agreement with the other Provinces and Territories called the Canadian Driver’s Licence Compact. Since then, any highway traffic violations upon conviction, will be forwarded to the offender’s home province. If there are demerit points, they will be adjusted as per the home province’s rules and regulations. (ie. mph converted to km/h, and demerit points assessed accordingly). Similarly, these take effect for New York and Michigan. Any offence(s) received and conviction(s) entered, will result in your home province being notified of the said conviction and the offence being transferred to the home province’s rules and regulations. For example, an offence of 20 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, once transferred to Ontario, would be adjusted to 32 kilometres per hour. This would then result in four demerit points against your licence from the Ministry of Transportation Ontario. These offences will show on your local driving record as out-of-province offences, and the effect of the offence is set out as per the rules of your home province. As of 2001, the Territories and Provinces of Canada took it a step further to instill penalties to drivers for failure to pay fines. This may result in your home province suspending your driver’s license or withholding your license or plates upon renewal. Furthermore: With regards to any suspensions/judgements rendered from the courts, the following states and provinces have agreements and may forward the said information to one another. Subsection 198(1) of the Ontario Highway Traffic Act extends to and applies to judgments rendered and become final against residents by any court of competent jurisdiction in the following Provinces and States: Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Saskatchewan. United States of America: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and District of Columbia. Special Agreements: – New York does assess points for minor violations received in Ontario and Quebec – Michigan and Ontario have reciprocal agreements – Quebec also has reciprocal agreement with California, Maine, Florida, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon and Pennsylvania. You must obey the laws, and if convicted fulfill your obligations for payment of penalties as set out by the courts, or you may face the consequences. Drive safely. The advice offered in this column is intended for informational purposes only. Use of this column is not intended to replace or substitute any professional, financial, medical, legal, or other professional advice.
