'Debts to the crown don't go away:' Sudbury looks to claim $18M in unpaid fines

The Ontario government is getting tough with the people who owe cities and towns $1.4 billion

The province announced this week that it won't renew the licence plates of drivers who have outstanding traffic fines.

In Greater Sudbury, legislative services execitvedirector Caroline Hallsworth says they are owed $18 million.

Speeding and other driving infractions account for one quarter of the 41,000 unpaid fines Greater Sudbury is trying to collect.

"Debts to the crown don't go away," Hallsworth said."You know, there are many pieces of your life where if you have an outstanding debt, that may come back and haunt you one way or another."

Hallsworth says the oldest fine currently on the books in Sudbury goes back to 1969.

She says refusing plate stickers already works well for those who haven't paid parking tickets, but the city also uses collection agencies to get the money it's owed and will sometimes take people to small claims court.

"If you go to renew your plate and you can't because you have an outstanding fine, we even often see people coming in in that circumstance to pay that fine off in full."