Penalty Order Options

The Province of Ontario passed Ontario Regulation 355/22 in 2022 to allow municipalities to issue Penalty Orders (Administrative Penalties) under the Provincial Administrative Penalty regime for contraventions of subsection 128(1) of the Highway Traffic Act that were captured using automated speed enforcement cameras.  Administrative Penalties do not go through the court system; rather, they are collected and reported by the participating municipality to the Province.

Administrative Penalties are issued for contraventions that are captured utilizing automated speed enforcement cameras where motorists are driving in excess of the posted speed limit.  

The amount of the administrative penalty associated with automated speed enforcement penalty orders for contraventions of subsection 128(1) of the Highway Traffic Act where the contravention is captured utilizing automated speed enforcement devices is determined based on rates that are pre-set by the Province of Ontario (refer to section 6 of Ontario Regulation 355/22). 

Each Administrative Penalty associated with a Penalty Order is comprised of the following amounts:

• penalty rate (the number of km/hr over the posted speed limit times the penalty rate in community safety zone or school zone as pre-set and described in Table 1 of section 6 of O. Regulation 355/22),plus 
• the corresponding victim component surcharge (as pre-set and described in Table 2 of section 6 of O. Regulation 355/22), plus
• $8.25 (as referred to in subsection 6(1) paragraph 5, to reflect costs incurred by the authorized person to access the name and most recent address of the person who is subject to the penalty order.

No demerit points are issued by the Ministry of Transportation for HTA infractions captured utilizing automated speed enforcement cameras.

There is no impact on the registered owner's driving record for Penalty Orders that are issued utilizing automated speed enforcement cameras. 

There is no impact on your insurance that is the result of a Penalty Order having issued to the registered owner of a vehicle captured (by image) utilizing automated speed enforcement cameras.

Cancellation/Rescheduling of Screening/Hearing:

• An RO may only cancel or reschedule their scheduled screening once.
• An RO may only cancel or reschedule their scheduled hearing once.

Cancellation/Rescheduling Window: Cancellations or rescheduling of your appointment must be made at least 72 hours before the scheduled Review. Any cancellation or request for rescheduling made within 72 hours of the scheduled Review will not be accepted.

Late Cancellation/Rescheduling Procedure: Should an RO need to cancel or reschedule within 72 hours of their appointment due to an emergency or unforeseen circumstance, please contact us immediately by phone at 1-877-748-1025 or email at ase@essatownship.on.ca. Be advised that cancellations made within this time frame may still be subject to our cancellation policy.

No-Show and Late Cancellations/Rescheduling: Failure to attend a scheduled review or cancel within the required time frame may result in additional penalties and/or loss of your appeal privileges.

At any stage of the appeal process, the SO/HO shall deem the RO as failing to attend should the cancellation/rescheduling window not be met.  Should this occur:

• the PO will be subject to applicable fees as outlined in O. Reg .355/22, and
• the RO will lose the ability to reschedule their review, and
• the RO will be required to pay their PO within the required timeline as indicated on the PO.