Imagine receiving a parking ticket nearly four decades after the fact. That’s exactly what happened to Ron Klicka of Jasper, Ontario, who was stunned to find a 40-year-old parking ticket from the City of Guelph in his mailbox in January 2026. The ticket, dated December 7, 1987, claimed he’d parked illegally near the Guelph train station—a place he hadn’t visited in years. But here’s where it gets controversial: Is it fair to enforce a fine after so much time has passed? And this is the part most people miss: Guelph isn’t just chasing down old debts for the sake of it—the city is sitting on a staggering $12 million in unpaid fines, and this ticket is just one piece of that puzzle.
Ron, who lived in Guelph during the 1980s, admits he doesn’t remember the ticket. He paid the $24.50 fine plus a $10 late fee, but he’s baffled. “I’ve always paid my tickets promptly,” he told CBC News. “My guess is someone took the ticket off my windshield, or it just didn’t stick.” He even moved to Alberta for a while, which might explain why the ticket slipped through the cracks. But here’s the real head-scratcher: Despite decades of renewing his Ontario driver’s license and plates, the ticket never surfaced—until now.
Is the system broken, or is Ron just an outlier? Amy Rocha, Guelph’s financial operations supervisor, explains that municipalities have been responsible for collecting fines since 2000. “We make every effort to collect court-ordered fines, no matter how old,” she said. Normally, unpaid tickets flag during license renewals, but recent changes—like eliminating the need to renew license plates annually—have made collection tougher. And this is where it gets even more contentious: The city can use third-party collectors or add fines to property taxes, but these methods are costly and resource-heavy.
Ron’s story isn’t just a quirky anecdote—it’s a window into a larger issue. “These fines add up,” he noted. “If everyone paid, it would be a significant chunk of money for the city.” So, what do you think? Is it reasonable to pursue decades-old debts, or should there be a statute of limitations on parking tickets? Let us know in the comments—this is one debate that’s sure to park itself in your thoughts for a while.
