Man gets $85 fine for trespassing picking up family at Toronto Pearson
When an Ontario man got a notice in the mail for trespassing after picking up a relative at Pearson International Airport, he wasn’t sure if the $85 fine was real or not.
“I got this ticket out of the blue. There was nobody there when I stopped,” said Ferdous Islam of Markham.
Toronto Pearson International Airport is a busy spot with about 100,000 vehicles passing through every day. To keep traffic moving, cars are not allowed to pull over on the side of the road as they approach the airport.
Islam said his relative asked to be picked up at the airport but as Islam got closer to Pearson there was a delay so he pulled over on the side of the road leading up to the terminal.
"I pulled over for five or six minutes until such time that he needed me to come to a certain pillar number and then I proceeded,” said Islam.
Weeks later Islam got a trespass notice from Lester B. International Pearson Airport that said fines for prohibited parking amount due $85.
While Islam said he didn't see any warnings where he was parked, there are no-stopping signs posted as you approach the airport terminals and a private company uses cameras to take photos of licence plates to send you the notice.
Islam said he shouldn't have to pay the $85 because he feels he wasn't trespassing.
"This is a public property that I passed through and I’m getting a ticket from a private company saying this is trespassing. I have not gone onto to someone's private property" said Islam.
Ryan White with media relations with the Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA) said in a statement that, “this program has been in place at Toronto Pearson since 2018 and is communicated on our website and regularly on Twitter. Our number one priority is the safety of everyone on airport grounds, and that includes drivers using the roadways around the terminals. Parking on the roadsides around the terminals is unsafe and increases the risk of preventable collisions.”
“The GTAA is responsible for public safety at the airport and has implemented a number of practices aimed at deterring the unsafe practice of roadside parking, including offering free Cell Phone Waiting Areas and implementing the mobile payment notice program. Signage is installed at regular intervals along the roadside at the airport notifying drivers that the roads are monitored by mobile patrols.”
“We also have wayfinding signs in place that direct drivers to the Cell Phone Waiting Areas. Private companies across Canada, and in many other countries around the world, issue similar payment notices. In Toronto Pearson’s case, this program has been implemented with the safety of all those on airport grounds in mind.”
The airport also has an Express Pass you can apply for online that allows you to have 18 minutes of free parking at the airport if you are dropping off or picking up a passenger.
Islam still feels the trespass notice is unfair.
"I think this is a cash grab there are certain ways they are trying to reach into people's pockets" said Islam.
If you get one of these trespass notices it will not affect your driver's licence or your car insurance, but if you don't pay it, it could be sent to a collections agency which could affect your credit rating.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.