Ontario driver hit with 2 tickets totaling nearly $800 after breaking rule he didn't know existed

An Ontario driver is facing fees of nearly $800 after receiving two tickets in a 24-hour span for breaking a rule he says he didn't know existed.

Earlier this year, the Ontario government announced eight million drivers would get refunds for their licence plate stickers, meaning drivers no longer have to pay $120 a year to register their vehicle.

But some drivers may not know they still need to renew their licence plates to avoid operating an unregistered vehicle and facing fines.

Mary Blackmore of Brampton, Ont. said her son, Grant Fall, who works in Alberta, recently received two tickets in the mail.

The tickets, received on July 8 and 9, respectively, were for driving with unregistered licence plates.

“The police in Alberta must have been targeting Ontario drivers. I mean two tickets in less than 24 hours for non-registration. I mean come on,” Blackmore told CTV News Toronto Tuesday.

With late fees, the two tickets came to $388 each, meaning her son has to pay fines totalling $776.

“So much for getting back the sticker refund and to say, ‘You should have known?’ No, this is something the Ontario government lacked in telling the people of Ontario,” she said.

Earlier this year, Gail Salmon of Ottawa was fined by police in Quebec for having expired plates.

Examples like these may explain why, over the past few weeks, there have been messages on digital signs on major Ont. highways reminding drivers to register their plates.

Registering your plates is easy to do and it’s free. Drivers can go to the Service Ontario website to renew them online. They can also sign up for digital reminders to renew their driver's licence, health card and Ontario photo card. 

Those who choose not to go online to renew can do so at a physical Service Ontario location.

The province is no longer mailing out renewal notices, and Blackmore feels more should have been done to inform drivers.

“They were all out there with their chests puffing when they were giving out sticker rebates, but there was never any mention of this registration issue,” she said.

In a statement to CTV News Toronto, Dakota Brasier, senior communications advisor and press secretary to the Minister of Transportation, Caroline Mulroney, said, “The Ontario government is cutting costs for over 8 million drivers by eliminating licence plate renewal fees and putting money directly back into the pockets of hardworking Ontarians.”

“The government has notified our enforcement and jurisdictional partners of the changes to Ontario’s licence plate sticker program, and while we have scrapped the cost of this renewal process, vehicle owners are still required to renew their licence plate on or before their birthday for a one or two year term.”

The government says drivers have to renew their licence plates to make sure their automobile insurance is still valid and to make sure outstanding 407 tolls and other fines have been paid.