Canadians who owe federal fines are slipping through the cracks, with nearly $261 million in unpaid penalties languishing in government files. Blacklock's Reporter says a memo from the Public Prosecution Service warns that, at the current pace, it will take about six years to clear the backlog.As of March 2025, roughly 29,000 files remain in default, with the National Fine Recovery Program managing to process just 5,000 cases per year and recovering between $1 million and $3 million annually. With only 21 staff working on the program and private debt collectors deemed too expensive, progress remains slow..“Civil enforcement mechanisms are onerous and costly,” prosecutors wrote in their Transition Book.Complicating the matter, the law mandates fines even in cases where the accused have no ability to pay, further clogging the system.Federal prosecutors admit the system has major flaws. “Only 5.3% of the federal fines ordered have been paid according to the court order in the last decade,” the memo noted, calling scofflaws one of the “biggest issues” in the system. While legislative tools exist on paper, prosecutors say gaps in enforcement powers continue to undercut justice..Crown lawyers previously recommended the federal cabinet work with provinces to use their fine collection systems, arguing the changes would help maintain confidence in the courts and uphold the rule of law.The fines cover a wide range of offences, including violations of the Income Tax Act, the Fisheries Act and the Employment Insurance Act. Critics have long decried the situation as evidence of two-tier justice.“It’s as if justice exists only on paper,” former New Democrat MP Françoise Boivin said in 2015, when the total in default stood at $135 million. “These are people who are ordered by the courts to pay fines, in some cases huge fines, and nothing seems to be done about it.”Unpaid federal fines can range from $250 to over $100,000.
