Raymond Vaters started training earlier this month to become Yellowknife's newest parking enforcement officer. - Kathleen Lippa/NNSL photo

"I was telling Ray, a lot of times you know the vehicle more than you know the person," says Daniel Larocque, the city bylaw enforcement officer in charge of training.

"You start to know the licence plate by heart. That's scary."

Vaters had only been in training for two days when he spoke to Yellowknifer. But he was already starting to feel the bittersweet fame that comes with being the guy who writes parking tickets.

Walking up and down the streets searching for expired meters is one way to become a recognizable face in the city. But it is also a good way to get known as the bad guy.

On his first day of training, Vaters had to warn a driver parked in a handicapped space in front of the post office.

Fine doesn't deter The $250 fine doesn't seem to deter people, Larocque says, shaking his head.

"She said she was there for a few minutes," Vaters says. "But if an individual was trying to park there, they'd have to drive around."

Being a ticket writer means walking the downtown core from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday. The harsh weather is part of the workplace, and will either make or break the parking attendant on patrol.

It's not surprising both men say bringing a sense of humour to work every day is important.

"When it's minus 30, minus 40 out there, it's cold. When you go through three pens just to write one parking ticket, it's cold," Larocque says.

"I've been outside to a point where someone came up to me and said 'How long you been standing outside? It's about time you go in.' My cheekbones were white. I was getting frostbite and I didn't even know it," says Larocque, laughing at the memory.

People may curse and swear when they get a ticket, but the public can be warm and welcoming, too.

"When I moved here I didn't know anyone," says Larocque, who hails from Ottawa.

Keeping a smile on your face out there is key to doing your job well, says Vaters.

He knows it won't be long before he is incurring the wrath of drivers as he writes them a $20 ticket, so he wants to stay positive on his "stroll," as he calls it.

"There's no reason not to say hi," says Vaters, who moved to Yellowknife from Newfoundland.

Vaters worked as a bylaw enforcement officer in a small community of 4,500 made up of mostly workers on the Hibernia oil site.

"When you see a lady or a gentleman walking out the same door everyday as you're coming by, you say hi," Vaters says.

"It's a face you come to see in your walk.

"It's your environment, so you make it as friendly as you can."