Ottawa looking to hire collector for unpaid fines

The federal government is looking to hire a collection agency to recover millions of dollars in unpaid fines from citizens.

A letter of intent posted on a Government contracting site states 22,313 people owe over $129 million in unpaid fines. The Canadian Press reports that the letter of intent states: 2,009 people owed more than $10,000; 1,049 people owed between $5,000 and $10,000 4,530 people owed between $1,000 and $5,000; 3,702 people owed between $500 and $1,000; 5,129 people owed between $250 and $500; 5,894 people owed less than $250. Federal fines fell under provincial jurisdiction before September 1996. “As a general rule, provincial courts across Canada would simply issue a warrant of committal in cases where a federal fine remained unpaid after it became due,” the letter of interest says of the pre-1996 debt-collection procedure. “No further action would be taken, and incarceration for unpaid fines was the most frequent consequence for default of payment.”