You no longer have to go to court to fight a YK parking ticket

From Thursday, contested Yellowknife parking tickets will no longer require a territorial court hearing. Instead, challenging a ticket will lead you to a municipal adjudicator.

Earlier this year, the City of Yellowknife released a plan to make disputing parking tickets quicker and simpler – both for the person involved and the city, which said considerable resources were tied up sending tickets through the courts.

As of September 1, the new system will offer anyone who gets a ticket the opportunity for a “screening officer” to review that ticket within 30 days.

If you disagree with the screening officer’s decision, you can request a further review from an adjudicator. The decision made by that adjudicator is final.

What happens if you consistently refuse to pay under the new system, exhausting all available options, was not initially set out.

After this article was first published, a city spokesperson clarified that in such a situation, the city could “take steps to recover amounts owing, such as collections on the amount owing as a debt to the city and obtaining and enforcing a civil judgment by means of garnishment.”

As was already the case, you’ll get a discount for making an early payment – within 14 days of getting the ticket – if you don’t challenge it.

“Allowing vehicle owners to contest their parking ticket directly to a screening officer is a faster and much more efficient way of processing parking tickets,” said Mayor Rebecca Alty in a press release.

More information on the updated system, including the process for requesting a review, can be found on the city’s website.