Disputed municipal tickets are referred by the CVRD to the Provincial Court for hearing. Upon referral, the clerk of the court issues a notice of a hearing that sets the time and place for the hearing and notifies the CVRD and the disputant.
The penalties associated with a municipal ticket do not place the alleged contravener in jeopardy of imprisonment, and the fine amounts are relatively small, therefore the presiding justice has some flexibility to hear a wider range of relevant, credible and trustworthy testimony as evidence and to adopt procedures that speed the fair conclusion of the hearing.
If a person has indicated that they wish to dispute the allegation and fails to attend the hearing, the justice must review the ticket and convict the person in their absence and impose the penalty if the ticket appears to be in order. A person convicted in their absence who was not at fault for missing the hearing, may apply to the court for a time extension under limited circumstances.