Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 04/05) - Drivers with outstanding fines will be denied renewal of vehicle registration or their driver's licence under a plan the territorial government hopes to introduce by April.

The plan was announced last week in the final days of the fall legislative session by Transportation Minister Michael McLeod.

Under fire from Kam Lake MLA Dave Ramsay for a system that jails drivers for unpaid fines, McLeod told the legislative assembly that the plan has been in the works for years. The new rules will require that drivers pay off their fines before they can be issued a new driver's licence.

"We're looking to implement something early in the new year," said McLeod.

"I'm hoping that will be sometime in April."

Until recently, the courts routinely issued arrest warrants for scofflaws who didn't pay their fines in a timely manner. The practice came under scrutiny earlier this month when a judge stayed charges against an impoverished Yellowknife woman who was jailed because she couldn't pay fines for speeding and driving without a licence.

It's widely anticipated that when Territorial Supreme Court Justice Virginia Schuler makes her final written ruling, police and municipal enforcement officers won't be allowed to jail drivers for traffic violations without a court hearing.

According to Kevin McLeod, acting director of road licensing and safety, the department has had the power to deny licences to drivers with overdue fines since 1988 but didn't act because they were unable to co-ordinate information with the courts.

Other jurisdictions in Canada allow drivers to pay off outstanding fines at the licensing branch when they register a vehicle or renew a driver's licence, but Kevin McLeod said it will be five or six years before the NWT is capable of doing that. Until then, errant drivers will have to make arrangements with the courts to pay off fines before they can get a licence.

"We don't have the capability in the outlying (communities) to be able to do that," said Kevin McLeod. "But that's our intent in the long term."