A volunteer who was unfairly ticketed for driving through a red light on a parade route in Burnaby, B.C. earlier this month won't have to fork over the $167 fine.
Silvester Law was among several drivers who were waved through a closed intersection by police during the Hats Off Day parade on June 2. But a traffic camera snapped his licence plate, and a week later he received a hefty ticket in the mail.
Law, who had volunteered to take photos and videos for the firefighters' union at the event, said he was stunned.
"There were cops all around me. They didn't say anything," Law told CTV News over the weekend.
But on Wednesday, days after Law’s story was covered on the news, the constituency office for Burnaby-Lougheed MLA Katrina Chen confirmed that the ticket is being cancelled.
"We have been informed by the office of the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General that the intersection camera safety unit has decided the ticket will be withdrawn," a constituency assistant told Law in an email.
It remains unclear why the red light camera was operating during the event. Law's ticket shows that it was issued just after 9 a.m., and the parade route was closed off about half an hour before that.
Because local RCMP don't have the power to overturn the fine, Law was initially told his only option was to dispute the ticket in court. Law said an ICBC representative also told him if he were to lose the appeal, he'd face demerit points on top of the fine.
The Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General told CTV News it is investigating to see whether any other drivers were dinged on the day of the parade, and whether a similar incident has happened before.
The province said all Intersection Safety Camera (ISC) images are reviewed twice to ensure the photos meet all the elements of a charge. Violation tickets do not come with penalty points.
Municipalities have the option to contact the ISC program ahead of time about road closures during planned events.
