Should the public allow known cash grabs to prevent unknown ones?

Author: WiseUp Winnipeg

  • Should the public allow known cash grabs to prevent unknown ones?

    Image: Winnipeg Sun

    Feb 25 2018 – WiseUpWinnipeg

    If an informed public are willing to allow what equates to unlawful taxation as fines and arguably breach of trust or unlawful enrichment to prevent another cash cow or raising taxes elsewhere we are heading in the wrong direction.

    Too many have fallen for the typical propaganda of we have to cut services or raise taxes. There is bloated bureaucracy, incompetence, unethical influence and corruption running rampant. The jurisdictions that have cleaned this up have more than enough legit revenue to provide great value for tax dollars without abusing their citizens with dial on demand taxation as fines.

    This isn’t even considering the harm the scameras proven to cause with dangerously short amber times, removed and inadequate signage, other known and created deficiencies and taking $70M a year from drivers, vehicles owners and their families every year in just Winnipeg. With velocity of money that equates to over $450M per year or $.5 Billion since 2003.

  • For Profit G4S Secure Solutions agents issuing tickets on behalf of WPA and the City of Winnipeg

    transport-parking_meter-tax_grab-taxation-parking_metre-parking_ticket-dbcn335_low.jpg

    Feb 22 2018

    For Profit G4S Secure Solutions agents not WPA employees issuing tickets on behalf of WPA and the City of Winnipeg.  Here is info we have posted before.  See link below to share this as a post.
    It is G4S Secure Solutions agents that have been alleged to have colluded with at least Tartan Towing drivers.   That was corroborated by several independent but common reports including some reports with photos and video and allegations of threats from Tartan and G4S agents.  The media covered some of these allegations.  G4S SS (Formerly G4S Technologies) is a multinational based out of the UK with many controversies to say the least in it’s past.


    https://winnipegsun.com/2014/09/26/parking-ticket-conspiracy/wcm/d95301fe-d935-4aa6-9b4f-af1553e8111c

    G4S have had the contract with the bloated and inefficient Winnipeg Parking Authority (WPA) since 2008 when the the Katz led City Council voted to stop using Not For Profit Commissionaires of Manitoba with excuse they were not effective. The details proved it was about them not issuing enough tickets (revenue) and allegations of corruption or unethical influence.
    https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/Contracting_ideology_flawed.html


    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-s-most-ticketed-drivers-and-top-parking-patrol-officers-1.2824023

    What are the worst places to park in Canada? Here’s the data on that
    Nov 19th 2016
    http://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3854094

    Unfair parking fees on private lots aren’t tickets — so you don’t need to pay them, expert says
    Best to contact them to dispute the fairness but if they ignore don’t pay.
    http://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.3851956

    More in this an much more related:Out of control parking enforcement in Winnipeg including firelanes and issues contesting or appealing

    https://yaworski.net/2018/02/22/out-of-control-parking-enforcement-in-winnipeg-including-firelanes-and-issues-contesting-or-appealing/

    G4S agents and the WPA  and City Spin Doctors / Bureaucrats including recent ones appointed by Bowman or his EPC +2 have a track record of lying or misleading to cover up the many cases of unfair an unlawful ticket schemes.  Schemes that aggressively targeting known, missing, obscured and confusing signage even when it repeatedly reported by their own agents, the public and WiseUpWinnipeg.  Many cases of putting up temporary no parking signage and almost immediately ticketing rather than giving the required 24 hr notice.  Regular cases of mass ticketing by G4S agents when there is no snow fall or clearing scheduled.


    Other cases of G4S ticketing under new bylaw promoted by Lukes that only allows no more than four vehicles or no more than one small truck even for family coming over for Sunday dinner.  No more then 6 vehicles in total including stored in garage.  No RV or Boat on private property from Nov 1 – May 14 and other restrictions that face up to $1000 fine.  It granted G4S agents permission to go on to private property to ticket.  Does that mean looking in your garage windows?


    Then the City and Province allowed adding in automated ticketing via camera vans driven by G4S agents and alleged offense notices sent in the mail, taking away the right to a fair trial and question you accuser, jacking up rates without valid reasons, ignoring malfunctioning meters and still ticketing and not canceling unless accused calls in with meter number and details, removing meters and other tactics to boost revenue. Selling tens of thousands of alleged violations to aggressive collection agents with partial or missing information who then use lying, misleading and bullying tactics to try and collect.


    The Katz led City and Selinger led Province requested and amended legislation and bylaws to allow parking agents not to attend court to be questions and moved contesting in a fair provincial court trial to a flawed and biased contesting process with the WPA / G4S contesting agents and appeals to provincial appointed adjudicators sitting at the desk beside them.

    The Mayor Brian Bowman and Deputy Mayor Janice Lukes led City has allowed G4S to continuing to issue KYZ and other alleged parking tickets when it proven in Court by WiseUpWinnipeg that they unlawful but Crown stayed to avoid a decision or “ducked out” by no longer contesting appeal and then it proven via FIPPA request that Lukes and other senior officials told by then City lawyer Micheal Jack (later CCO) that they were not enforceable.  Mr. Jack has since been found guilty of conflict of interest and practicing law without being registered as a laywer with LSM regarding the dangerously short amber time formal complaints with APEGM.  Like other parking and traffic enforcement cases they continued issuing alleged offenses until it exposed to be unlawful but then refused to refund those that paid in good faith.  


    This has gone to Judicial Review where Provinical Justice make it pretty clear he thought the arguments of the Crown were unreasonable.  The Crown had argued that the signage as per HTA for no parking for scheduled snow clearing was not necessary if the director of public works issued the notice vs. a peace officer directing no parking on site or temporary signage for no parking which was done for decades without any issues until the flawed KYZ revenue scheme and bylaw.


    The boost in revenue and reduced delays after taking right to a fair trial and questioning your accuser away was not enough so the Palister led PC majority parliament gave municipalities (mostly for the City of Winnipeg) more authority for parking and 700 other bylaw alleged offenses and the contesting of these also moved the the flawed and biased process with the WPA.

  • Traffic ticket court bars representative for ‘acting as a lawyer’

    Todd Dube, founder of Wise Up Winnipeg (left) and Keith MacCharles, who is fighting two radar tickets, in front of the traffic courts in Winnipeg on Tuesday
    MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS

    Traffic ticket court bars representative for ‘acting as a lawyer’

    By: Kevin Rollason – Winnipeg Free Press
    01/29/2019 7:00 PM |

    If it talks like a lawyer, writes legal briefs like a lawyer, and acts like a lawyer, it probably is a lawyer, according to a judicial justice of the peace and the Crown.

    However, a driver advocacy organization believes that’s not true — and anyone can be enlisted to help fight a photo radar speeding ticket.

    In traffic court Tuesday, Judicial Justice of the Peace Nettie Cuthbert-Buchanan agreed with the Crown’s motion to not allow Christian Sweryda, a second-year law student at the University of Manitoba, to act for a company charged under the Highway Traffic Act for two of its vehicles speeding through photo radar zones.

    “I am barring Mr. Sweryda from acting as a representative in this matter,” Cuthbert-Buchanan said.

    “He is acting as a lawyer… (the) standards are put in place to protect the public… Mr. Sweryda’s actions are the practice of law.”

    Cuthbert-Buchanan said she was using a section in the provincial offences act which states a justice “may bar a person from appearing as a representative if the justice finds that the person is not able to properly represent or advise the person for whom they appear.”

    The stance was challenged by Todd Dube, founder of Wise Up Winnipeg.

    On the back of a traffic ticket, under the heading Authorization to Appear or Act, it states a person charged with the offence can “act personally or by representative in any proceeding. To authorize another person to appear or act on your behalf, you must provide him/her with your written authorization to present to the court.”

    “The legal process abuses, that we’ve seen in traffic court over the years by the Crown and the judicial justice of the peaces, has been alarming,” Dube said after court.

    “What we saw here (Tuesday) was the preference of both those parties to keep informed people out of their courtroom. The legal errors we saw (Tuesday) will easily be overturned on appeal,” he said. “Traffic court in Manitoba requires an independent inquiry.”

    The traffic ticket court case itself involves two speeding tickets handed out after company vehicles passed photo radar vehicles last year. The matter has been put over until March.

    Keith MacCharles, owner of Airmaster Signs, said he is fighting the tickets and wanted Sweryda, a friend of his family, to help him.

    “The legal process abuses, that we’ve seen in traffic court over the years by the Crown and the judicial justice of the peaces, has been alarming”

    – Todd Dube

    “I’m fighting it because they seem to be more concerned about me getting a ticket than with getting me to slow down,” MacCharles said after court. “They could easily put signs up or traffic calming devices, but they don’t because they want to give out tickets.”

    Earlier, the court was told that, for months, Sweryda has appeared for numerous people charged with photo radar violations and has written legal briefs used in the matters.

    Crown attorney Amanda Cheys said prosecutors became increasingly concerned, as while the back of the ticket states people charged can get others to help in court, it does not allow people who are not lawyers “free rein as a lawyer without the protections put in place for lawyers.”

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    The court was told the province addressed the matter several years ago, when it allowed businesses such as POINTTS and Traffic Ticket Experts to represent people, as long as they registered and bonded.

    Cheys said it is the Crown’s view allowing someone to represent a person in traffic court was intended for a relative or friend to come if there were language difficulties or if they needed emotional support.

    Sweryda disagreed and said the Crown didn’t have any problems with him representing people until he won a charter motion last year.

    “(Since) then, they have fought to have me removed,” he said. “To put it bluntly, it is opponent shopping.”

    Sweryda said he represents people he knows, and doesn’t get paid to for his time in traffic court

    kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
    Reporter

    Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.

    —

    Comments from a member observing in court.

    Fun facts missing from what was said in the court room today: to make more profit, the court allows non-lawyers and students to pretend to be the prosecutors, and allows just about anyone to pretend to be the judge (JJP) in traffic court. There are 3 sides, the govt side, the victim / accused side, and the judge. This non-judge has declared that the victim cannot seek help from a non-lawyer. If the victim does hire a lawyer, he or she would be the only lawyer in the room!. Can the bias here be any more clear?

    In real court rooms, the judge has been promoted from being a practicing lawyer, and the prosecution team is made up of lawyers. Not so in what they pretend is “traffic court”.

  • MB fine option to pay with community service not available for some

    Jan 21 2019 – WiseUpWinnipeg

    In MB the fine option to pay with community service is no longer available for HTA and parking alleged offences including traffic matters.

    It used to be an option on the back of the alleged offense notices. Was this done in the lead up to photo and parking enforcement being implemented with For Profit partners?

    Saskatchewan wants to or has taken this option away as well.

    https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/fine-option-rules-could-hurt-non-profits-1.4098904

    A justice should be able to overrule this policy if requested by the accused after a conviction when they asked if they need time to pay.

    Has any one tried this?

    If denied it may require filing a motion application (free for non civil including HTA matters) with the Provincial Court. E.g 408 York Ave, Wpg. Which will be heard by a proper Justice not a JJP aka majistrate like in POC / Traffic or as some senior Crown refer to it Kangaroo Court.

    Taking this option away hurts low income people, families and communities the hardest. Especially when they can stop the renewal of a drivers license or insurance for non payment and fines are up to six times higher than elsewhere in Canada.

    Many require a license for employment and public transit not available where or the times they need it. This can force some into poverty and a vicious cycle that in some cases leads them from being a productive member of society to homeless and being a unnecessary strain on public services.

    It not uncommon for fines for designated construction zones which are doubled being over $600. In many cases multiple alleged offenses issued to same vehicle owner in short period due to zone extended beyond any construction and signage missing, blown down or inadequate. When this proven with City issued FIPPA request results that are also online the JJP’s have denied them being used and ignored photos of signage missing.

    Regardless the accused can appeal but this costs $35, cost of transcript and time off work. In MB there has been a trend of bias and errors for simple traffic matters especially in the lower court. The Chief Justices have said in responses to formal complaints about this “that is what the appeal process is for”. Not all can afford the cost to appeal, for transcript and time off work.

    The accused can still make payments but even this is difficult for those on fixed or limited income.

    —

    The government of Manitoba has created a fine-option program under Manitoba Regulation 178/88 which entitles any person, regardless of financial circumstances, to elect to perform community work, rather than pay the fine.

    Who do I contact for more information?

    Winnipeg: (204) 945-6313

    Toll-Free in Manitoba: (204) 1-800-282-8066

    www.gov.mb.ca/justice/courts/fine.html

    WiseUpWinnipeg

    Volunteer Public Advocates and Cummunity Group

    To earn more about use, get more informed, donate and volunteer visit www.wiseupwinnipeg.com

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    MB fine option to pay with community service not available for some

  • Compensation of government employees consumes half of all program spending in Ontario

    This even higher in Winnipeg and Manitoba. In the WPS 85% of spending is on salaries and benefits.

    https://www.fraserinstitute.org/blogs/compensation-of-government-employees-consumes-half-of-all-program-spending-in-ontario

  • Serious issues with how photo and officer traffic enforcement used in Winnipeg

    Jan 17 2019 – Kevin Yaworski

    There has been many good articles by Tom Brodbeck about Photo Enforcement in Winnipeg. The Bowman led City and Pallister led Province have only allowed the many serious issues around it to get worse.

    Why does WPS, the City, Province and MPI include or depend on fine or demerit related revenue from photo or officer traffic “safety” enforcement in their budgets?

    Why are the conditions of authority for photo and officer traffic enforcement, court directives, charter and other legal rights not enforced or ignored?

    It has been suggested to elected and appointed officials repeatedly that this “revenue” should not be included in budgets and doing so plus the lack of enforcement of above conditions and rights has led to:

    1) Ignoring of MUTCD, ITE and other proven national traffic engineering safety standards for speed limit setting, intersection amber times, speed limit, reduction and photo enforcement and related signage. Removal of hundreds of the above public paid and engineering recommended signage with no valid reason. Just excuse that too much signage is confusing.

    2) Aggressive and predatory enforcement by photo and officers of zones with known and dangerous engineering deficiencies with low safety risks.

    3) Diverting officers from community support and other important units to work pensionable OT on traffic duty and targeting almost exclusivly deficient locations as mentioned above.

    4) Less availability or focus by officers, Crown, the Courts and other limited and valuable resources than is needed on preventing, investigating, solving and prosecuting serious crime (violent, property, blue collar, corporate and financial).

    5) Up to 150,000 photo and 55,000 officer issues alleged traffic offenses per year in Winnipeg with upward trend and up to 25% contesting rate by accused vehicle owners or drivers. This volume, contesting rate with fines up to 6 times higer than elsewhere in Canada are many times higher than the Canadian average per capita.

    6) Calls to police for B & E and other serious crimes taking up to 36 hours to get response or 911 callers getting told there is no officers available yet multiple peaceful protests by WiseUpWinnipeg members in Construction or School zones with unlawful setup and inadequate signage get response by WPS in under 15 mins. Other cases with no response while the TrapSpy app reporting many officers nearby doing traffic enforcement

    7) Undue pressure on Clerks, Crown, JJP’s, Justices and the courts in general from above volume and contesting rate and resulting in a well documented trend of bias and errors in transcripts, decisions and other court records.

    8 ) Backlogs and delays of up to 24 months to go to trial for simple traffic matters. These and other charter violations created as a result of the predatory enforcement and “safety revenue” schemes. They resulted in Court clerks, Crown and other valuable resources diverted from family court and other important courts. Clerks resigning after pressured into calling accused vehicle owners or drivers to discuss their options and actions they felt were unfair or underhanded.

    9) Ignoring or misinterpreting of court directives, due process, charter and other legal rights, legislation, sworn oaths, professional standards and MB Justice policies by photo enforcement operators, police officers, Crown, JJP’s and some Justices, Chief Justices, LERA commissioners, APEGM / EGM in order to reduce delays, get convictions, reduced fine plea deals and dismiss formal complaints.

    10) For profit TSS / Xerox / Conduent photo enforcement operators caught in many photos sleeping or distracted while “observing violations”. Operators or Officers making false statements, falsifying notes and other evidence, lying under oath / perjury about signage checked and present, that they were present at the time of the violation and others with little to no consequences. Trend of a lack of or last minute disclosure of officer notes, observation logs, zone and setup diagrams etc … Trend of lying, misleading or bullying of accused by Crown to reduce delays and get plea deals. Trend of Crown and JJP’s denying valid requests for adjournment like last minute disclosure, rights of the self represented ignored and others.

    11) Loss of public trust, respect and confidence in police, courts, elected and appointed officials and the system in general which has serious consequences.

    12) Anti-public interest legislation / acts, bylaws and policies put in place without due diligence, proper public consultation or debate that allow more breaches of due process, charter and other legal rights instead of dealing with the known and root issues mentioned above. This included but not limited to the option to plead not guilty removed from back of alleged offense notices and form removed from MB JUS website, the right to a fair trial, face your accused and to a proper appeal taken away or made very difficult to know about or stand up for.

    Once more of the public get informed of these abuses, misuse of valuable and limited public resources and then take collective and meaningful action things will change.

    This doesnt even go into the issue with unfair and unlawful parking enforcement by WPA / CoW and their For Profit partner G4S Tech (now has new name to try and dodge rap from trend of behavior against public interests).

    —

    WiseUpWinnipeg
    We are Public Advocates for proper safety, engineering, education, legislation plus fair and lawful enforcement (in that order) and related.

    To get more informed of the facts and impacts of ignoring, donate and volunteer visit www.wiseupwinnipeg.com, www.facebook.com/groups/WiseUpWinnipeg announcement and regular pinned posts included nested links.

    Together we can make a difference.

    Like and Follow us on Twitter and Facebook at @WiseUpWpg
    Disclaimer: We are volunteer public advocates. If you require legal advice contact a Lawyer registered with LSM, legal aid if you qualify, the public interest law center or recognized law clinic at University.

  • Changes to DUI legislation in Canada – Criminal defense lawyer speaks out

    The Bill C-46 amendments now in affect give police increased power to stop any driver to ensure they are sober. (pixabay/stevepb)

    —

    Dec 19 2018 – WiseUpWinnipeg

    Here is a summary of changes to impaired driving legislation in Canada from a criminal defense lawyer including mandatory screening and penalties. It also has suggestions if you get stopped and if you alleged to be impaired.

    Thanks to criminal defense lawyer Karl Gowenlock for this summary and suggestions if stopped or accused of driving while impaired.

    We have also included links to the legislation details, some information from CBC on some of the issues with it that will likely result in court challenges and the @TrapSpy App.

    —

    For all the people posting about the new Impaired Driving laws coming into force on Dec 18, please allow me to summarize the changes, as well as the current state of the law, and hopefully clear up a lot of confusion. I am an experienced criminal defence lawyer who does a lot of Impaired Driving cases, so I have some idea what I’m talking about. [UPDATED, see below]

    Alcohol:

    – The police already have the authority to stop you without any suspicion, simply to check if you are licenced and sober. (This has been upheld as constitutional – although it infringes our section 9 right against arbitrary detention, the court found it a justified infringement under section 1)

    – The police can now make a demand you blow into a road-side screening device without any suspicion whatsoever . (Before this week they needed “reasonable suspicion of alcohol in the blood” – ie. smell on breath, admitting to having a drink etc..)

    – As it was already, if you refuse to blow you have committed a criminal offence on par (or worse) with Impiared Driving in its consequences and you will be arrested for Refusing a Screening Demand. You DO NOT have a right to talk to a lawyer before you answer the screening demand.

    – As it was already, if the police have “reasonable grounds to believe” your ability to drive is impaired by alcohol (or drug, or combination of both) OR you fail a roadside screening test, you can be arrested for impaired driving and the police will make a demand that you take a breathalyzer (or a blood test in the case of drugs) at the station or in a checkstop van.

    – You DO have a right to talk to a lawyer before you answer a breathalyzer or blood demand. If you refuse a justified breathalyzer or blood demand, you have committed a criminal offence just as bad or worse than blowing over.

    – They are LOWERING the legal limit by 10 mg per 100ml of blood. Previously it was illegal to drive over 80 mg. Because breathalyzer machines give a reading to the nearest 10 mg, and always round down, this meant that the effective legal limit was 89 mg/100ml. Under the new law it is illegal to drive at 80mg or over. So now the effective limit is now 79 mg/100ml.

    – Previously it was simply illegal to operate a motor vehicle over the legal limit or while your ability to do so was impaired. Now it is also illegal to have a blood alcohol level (or drug level or drug/alcohol level) over the limit within two hours after driving, unless you drank the alcohol after the driving AND you had no reasonable expectation that you would have to give a sample.

    – The minimum sentence for a first offence of Impaired Driving, Driving over the legal alcohol (or drug) limit, or Refusal, is a $1000 fine and a 1 year driving prohibition. There are other consequences from MPI on top of this. There are also higher minimum fines for higher blood alcohol levels.

    Drugs

    – They have instituted a blood THC limit. It is very low. 5 ng/ml or over is on par with Impaired Driving in its consequences.

    – Over 2 ng/ml but less than 5 is a new criminal offence with a max fine of $1000 and a discretionary (rather than a mandatory) driving prohibition of max 1 year.

    – A regular user may take 24-48 hours to get below these limits. So it is basically illegal for any medical marijuana user to ever drive.

    – They have LOWERED the legal limit for ALCOHOL to 50 ml/100ml if you have 2.5 ng/ml or more of THC in your blood.

    – In order to demand you take the road-side screeing device for cannabis (or demand you perform a field drug recognition evaluation) police must still have reasonable suspicion of cannabis in the bloodstream. You DO NOT have the right to talk to a lawyer before answering the demand. It is a criminal offence to refuse a justified demand.

    – They have also introduced specific blood limits for common illegal drugs.

    I personally believe many of these changes should be declared unconstitutional, and hope cases come my way that allow me to challenge them. I think there is a good chance the suspicion-less demand power will be struck down by the courts, and possibly the very low blood THC level too. But this is far from certain. And remember, until the courts say a law is unconstitutional, that law still applies. And launching a constitutional challenge has a significant cost in legal fees… so be careful out there and follow the law! (and follow your Trap Spy!)

    Most importantly: if you are charged with a criminal offence TALK TO A CRIMINAL DEFENCE LAWYER before deciding what to do. There are very often defences you don’t realize, and almost all lawyers will give you a free consultation.

    UPDATE: One VERY IMPORTANT change I forgot to mention is that the maximum penalty for drive impaired is increased from 5 to 10 years. While it is exceedingly rare for someone to get the maximum, the bigger effect is that people who are not citizens can now face deportation. Under immigration law, a “serious crime” is defined as anything with a sentence of 10 years or more. A permanent resident who is convicted of “a serious crime” can be sent to a deportation hearing.

    Original post and discussion

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/WiseUpWinnipeg/permalink/10155572342786222/

    —

    Always drive sober and attentive. To avoid delays from Checkstops that often hand out costly tickets for non moving violations instead of warnings and be alerted of police speed traps in locations with known, created and often dangerous engineering deficiencies get the TrapSpy App in the Google Play or Apple App Store.

    —

    Related

    New impaired driving laws could unintentionally criminalize sober drivers

    Impaired Driving Laws

    https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/sidl-rlcfa/index.html