To the point of Bill C-45 reflecting what the Supreme Court has said, if a person is unable to pay a fine, they cannot be imprisoned for their inability to pay through no fault of their own. As my colleague has said, the starting point is that the court has to first determine whether there is an ability to pay a fine, before it can impose a fine. It must then determine the amount of the fine. Bill C-45 provides a maximum limit on that. Alternatively, once a fine is imposed, whatever the amount is, if there is a fine option program in the province, it is possible for an individual to work towards discharging that fine through the work credit.
One thing that is perhaps causing a bit of confusion is that between the first part of the ticket process—an individual issued a ticket chooses to pay or to challenge the ticket—and the second part of the process, which I think Mr. Davies was dealing with—if the individual challenges the ticket and goes through a court process, the court makes determinations as to whether an offence has been committed, and if so, the penalty to be imposed in that situation. If the individual is acquitted, there's no need to protect the record. If there is a conviction entered, then once it's paid or however it's dealt with in accordance with whatever the court imposes for the fine, that part is protected as well under the provision at clause 54 in terms of the judicial record of conviction.