‘Just charging the owner’: Saskatoon aims to curb parking boot tampering

Saskatoon is considering changing its parking enforcement rules to consider vehicle owners guilty until proven innocent if a boot applied to their vehicle is tampered with.

The City of Saskatoon is considering changes aimed at deterring people from tampering with parking boots, used to immobilize vehicles with unpaid parking tickets.

On Tuesday, the city’s transportation committee approved a proposed amendment to the Impounding Bylaw. If passed, it would presume that the registered vehicle owner is responsible for removing a boot, unless they can prove otherwise.

City administrators say it’s a logical assumption, since the owner has the most to gain by tampering with the device.

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A report from administration shows since 2020, there have been 13 incidents of boot tampering, with two people held accountable. The city was unable to prosecute the other 11 cases, resulting in more than $4,600 in lost fines and four damaged boots. The city hopes the proposed amendment would help recover costs for each boot, which is about $1,000.

“You’re just charging the owner and it’s simple. It’s more efficient, it’s easier, and it’s better for the city,” said Bev Dubois, councillor for Ward 9.

How to recoup unpaid parking fines from drivers — and the costs associated with that enforcement — has been a perennial problem for City Hall.

By 2021, the amount of unpaid fees on outstanding parking tickets had reached a total of $8 million, and by the following year, nearly 10,000 drivers were in what the city called “scofflaw status.”

In the recommendations proposed Tuesday, administrators are also recommending changing the bylaw language to include anyone who “causes or permits” tampering with a boot. The current wording only holds the person who physically tampers with the device responsible.

The recommendations will go to city council for final approval. The next council meeting is scheduled for Aug. 27.