You Could Be Denied A New Driver's Licence Or Car If You Don't Pay COVID-19 Fines In BC

People are going to be "held accountable for the debt they owe," said Mike Farnworth

You Could Be Denied A New Driver's Licence Or Car If You Don't Pay COVID-19 Fines In BC
Marc Bruxelle | Dreamstime
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As of May 8, 2021, over $1 million worth of COVID-19 fines has been processed by ICBC. Meanwhile, only $172,825 of those tickets have been paid according to a press release from the province of B.C. This accounts for only 14% of the total.

As seen in the data, people aren't exactly jumping to pay their COVID-19 fines. As a result, the province proposed new legislation on Wednesday, May 12 that would result in people with unpaid COVID-19 fines being unable to renew their B.C. driver's licence or vehicle license.

"That small minority of persons who have been fined for violating the rules in place to protect us all are going to be held accountable for the debt they owe," said Mike Farnworth, the B.C. minister of public safety and solicitor general.

"We've already moved up the deadline for sending unpaid COVID-19 fines to collections. Now, we're going to refuse to issue offenders a driver's licence or vehicle licence if they still won't take their tickets seriously and pay up."

If passed, these new rules will start in July and they will apply to all outstanding fines issued under the Emergency Program Act and COVID-19 Related Measures Act.

"People with outstanding fines will receive notice of the RTI [refuse to issue] from ICBC ahead of their driver's licence expiry and vehicle license renewal," said the press release.

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  • Britanny Burr
    Britanny Burr was a Staff Writer at Narcity Canada, who drove growth within Narcity's Western coverage and readership. Having lived between her hometown, Canmore, Alberta and Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, and NYC over the past 10 years, she is obsessed with finding the best local hot spots. She holds a B.A. in English and has over six years of professional writing experience as Head Writer and Editor for YUL.Buzz in Montreal, and Creative Copywriter at JAKT in NYC. News by day, poetry by night — the written word is Britanny's nearest and dearest.

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