Stopping mailing out reminder notices for expiring licence plate stickers and vehicle registrations was expected to save the province $3 million a year. What wasn’t expected was the new source of income it created.
According to a report by CTV News, $4.5 million in fines were collected from drivers who didn’t have valid registration. That’s up $800,000 from the year before. In the same time frame, $1.2 million was collected in fines for expired licence plate stickers, up $200,000 from 2015.
The provincial government announced in April that it would stop sending renewal notices, followed by a short radio ad campaign. Robocalls were made in September, but that was too late for people who had already received tickets.