Why Did A Canadian Indian-Origin Family Get Multiple Traffic Tickets?

An Indian-origin family from Brampton has been facing stress and receiving traffic tickets for weeks due to their car's licence plate being stolen.

Priyanka Kashyap received nine parking tickets totalling over $400 from the nearby town of Milton, even though her licence plate had been reported missing to a government department and new ones had been paid for, as reported by India Today.

Canadian Indian-Origin Family Get Tickets - Know Why

Six of the tickets were issued after the theft was reported. "It's just frustrating," Kashyap, who has been attempting to resolve the tickets since late May, as reported by CBC News. The family encountered conflicting information from the police and the town while trying to have the tickets dismissed.

On May 24, Kashyap's brother noticed that the front licence plate of their vehicle was missing. After security footage was reviewed, the family concluded that the plate had likely been stolen two days earlier at a mall. The theft was reported to Peel Regional Police on May 27, but it was explained that a police report was unnecessary.

The next day, Kashyap and her mother, Caroline Novak, visited the police station, where Novak stated that the police were "very nonchalant," as reported by CBC News. "I was quite flabbergasted that the police weren't at all concerned," Novak said.

Following police advice, Kashyap reported the missing plate to Service Ontario, a Canadian government department handling documents, on May 28 and paid for new plates. Peel Regional Police clarified that they do not file reports without specific evidence of theft, noting that plates often fall off, as reported by India Today.

"You'd be surprised at how often members of the public come into the police station with licence plates that they've found just on the roadways," said Constable Tyler Bell. Two weeks later, Kashyap received notices for overdue parking tickets from Milton, despite not residing there.

Eight tickets were discovered for her old plate, five of which were issued after the plate was reported missing. The town of Milton explained that bylaw officers do not have access to the Ministry of Transport database when issuing tickets. "I thought it would be pretty simple," Kashyap said, after showing photos of the plate on a different car.

Town officials insisted on a police report for the tickets to be cancelled. On June 13, a report was filed by Peel police and coordinated with Halton Regional Police, who later seized the stolen plate. However, a ninth ticket was issued four days after the report.

"It results in somebody having to make multiple phone calls and take, you know, substantial time out of their life to deal with something that is out of their hands," said Bell. Kashyap hopes the tickets will be cancelled but remains frustrated, reported CBC News.

"I know it's a licence plate and it could have been worse, but it's still-I feel frustrated," she said. Bell added, "At the end of the day, someone victimised them."