If You Move

If you change your address, you're relying on Canada Post to forward your mail. Good luck with that. If you do move, take the time to go back to the office where you requested a trial and indicate that you have moved to a new address. When you file this, make sure you get a receipt. If later you are convicted without notice, you can use this to have the case reopened.

Don't worry. They have to tell you when and where your trial is. It's called a "Notice of Trial". If by some fluke in the universe, you are convicted without knowing it, they still have to send you another notice in the mail requesting you pay the fine. You can take this fine request and your stamped ticket to the court and have your case reopened on the grounds that you weren't told about your trial. And that too, only takes 15 minutes.

How Long Will It Take to Get A Trial Date?

So how long can it take to get a notice of trial? They can take a maximum of 10 months to schedule a trial and send you a notice telling you when and where it is. And the date of the trial can be an additional eight months away. Yes you read that correctly, over a year and a half from the date of your offence to the date you are standing in a court room. The good news is that courts expect trials to take place no more than 18 months from the date of offence. If it takes any longer, you have an excellent chance to stop the trial. Regardless of how long it takes, you will be arguing that it took too long in Step 4.