GORE BAY—The Manitoulin Provincial Offences Act (POA) Board is joining other small boards in Northern Ontario to find solutions to a lack of revenues being derived by the POA.
Fines derived from POA offences, speeding tickets as an example, see a portion of revenue go back to the municipality in which the offence was made.
“It is all about moving forward, working with other municipalities and being positive and proactive for the safety of the community without jeopardizing the service,” said POA treasurer (and Gore Bay treasurer) Michael Lalonde to a request being made by the Manitoulin Island POA Board, along with at least one other Northern Ontario POA board, to find solutions to concerns with the lack of revenues POA boards have been deriving the past few years.
POA manager and Gore Bay Town manager Harry Schlange said, “We are joining other POA offices in the North, looking at how to make improvements in the POA service (that was downloaded onto municipalities in 2000). We are working to find solutions and are working in partnership with other POA-municipalities that are in the same situation.”
Mr. Schlange said the Manitoulin POA Board is supporting the Temiskaming Shores POA Board in requesting a delegation to meet the Minister of the Attorney General to look at solutions. He explained the net revenues for the POA operations has been running at a deficit since 2020.
In the first year of the POA being set up, the operating revenues to Manitoulin POA was $53,453.45, but since 2017 there has been a deficit in the operational costs, including $15,000 in 2023. When the POA was first being downloaded to the municipalities it was touted as a revenue source, with suggestions at the time that the revenue would help pay for social housing—but the revenue never lived up to that claim. In part, this was due to the rising tendencies for those facing traffic tickets opting to challenge the tickets. The costs associated with providing for those challenges usually outweigh the revenue from that ticket.
Added to the mix are a number of other financial challenges facing the POA. The first is that the POA rarely receives any monetary award from a prosecuted fine from a provincial offense such as those involving the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. This despite the huge costs associated in prosecuting those charges, which can often run to days of court time.
A second is that during COVID a number of additional costs were added to the operation of the courts, many specifically related to remote attendance—with the POA revenue covering the cost of those costs including courtroom renovations needed to protect those attending court, the additional staff required due to operating the remote software and monitoring the remote attendees.
“There is a bit of light in the tunnel, however.”
Mr. Schlange pointed out, “since the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) allocated more constables to its force, we are seeing a significant increase of enforcement on POA related offences, and we are optimistic we will see a balanced budget in 2024.”
“The POA operating deficit cost has been shared by the local municipalities who are part of the Manitoulin POA board,” said Mr. Lalonde.
“There has been good cooperation on the part of the other local municipalities,” said Mr. Schlange. “In looking for solutions, we are also looking at internal improvements on our part to keep everything in balance.”
The descent into deficit when it comes to revenues from the POA predates the pandemic, however, and Island municipalities have expressed their concerns to the Ontario Attorney General and explored options, such as amalgamating with other POAs in the region, but none of those options have so far proven to be viable—particularly since most other Northern and rural POAs are facing similar challenges.
