Role of Provincial Offences Court (POC)
In May 2000, the Province of Ontario transferred the responsibility for the delivery of the administrative, prosecutorial and court support functions under the Provincial Offences Act to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.  This transfer was part of the Province's strategy to realign provincial and municipal roles in the delivery of public services.  As a result, the Municipality was required to establish its own administration and prosecution office and courtroom to deal with charges laid under the Provincial Offences Act.  The Provincial Offences Act sets out the processes to be followed for administering and prosecuting charges laid by police and other enforcement agencies under provincial statutes and municipal by-laws.

Contact Information
Municipality of Chatham-Kent
Provincial Offences Court
21633 Communication Rd.
R.R.#5 Blenheim, ON   N0P 1A0

Tel:  519.352.8484
Fax:  519.352.7979
E-mail:  CKpoc@chatham-kent.ca

Ext. 4002:  Manager
Ext. 4003:  Municipal Prosecutor
                (Mon. - Wed., 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) 
Ext. 4007:  Trial Coordinator
Ext. 4020 or 519.352.6736:  Case Management
                 

Directions
FROM WINDSOR:  Go East
Take Hwy 401 to Exit 90, Communication Rd. (formerly Hwy 40)

FROM TORONTO:  Go West
Take Hwy 401 to Exit 90, Communication Rd. (formerly Hwy 40)

FROM BLENHEIM:  Go North
Take Communication Rd. (formerly Hwy 40)
Second building on right before the Hwy 401 overpass, east side of Communication Rd.

FROM CHATHAM:  Go South
Take Communication Rd. (formerly Hwy 40)
Go over the Highway 401 overpass, second building on left, east side of Communication Rd.

Hours of Operation
OFFICE HOURS:  Mon. to Fri., 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
 (excluding holidays)

COURT PROCEEDINGS:  Tues. and Wed., commences 10:00 a.m.

WALK-IN GUILTY PLEAS:  Wed., 9:00 a.m. 
(excluding holidays and municipal court closures)  


Court Closures
NO WALK-IN GUILTY PLEAS on:
 Wednesday, October 14, 2009
 Wednesday, November 11, 2009
 Wednesday, December 23, 2009
 Wednesday, December 30, 2009   

***NOTE:  Duty counsel is not available for Provincial Offences matters.

Rules and Policies
During courtroom proceedings, there are to be no hats or sunglasses worn, no chewing gum or candy, no food or drink, no cell phones or pagers, and no newspapers or magazines. Appropriate attire should be worn (e.g. no shorts, cut-offs, see-through blouses). The presiding Justice of the Peace is to be addressed as "Your Worship".

Trial Co-ordination and Re-openings
The trial option (Option 3) and re-openings are addressed in our Frequently Asked Questions.

If you have attended at your court appearance and it is decided that your trial will not go ahead that day but rather a new trial date will need to be set, you must attend at the administrative counter and ask to see the Trial Coordinator. While you wait, a new trial date will be set and you will be asked to sign a Certificate of Compliance. If you need an interpreter for your trial, please inform the Trial Coordinator at this time (if it wasn't indicated on your original request for trial). You will then be required to re-enter the courtroom so that your matter may be recalled and the new trial date assigned.

Case Management

For all charges that have been initiated by way of a ticket (also called a Part I charge), Case Management can discuss a possible resolution of the charge and can arrange to obtain disclosure (a copy of the enforcement officer's notes, accident report, etc.). A resolution discussion can be done over the phone. You must first receive a Notice of Trial in the mail before discussing a resolution with Case Management. A downloadable Disclosure Request form is available in the FORMS section of our web-site.

To contact Case Management: 
Call 519.352.6736, ext. 4020,
Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.  

For all charges that have been intiated by way of service of a summons (also called a Part III charge or long-form Information), possible resolutions shoudl be discussed with the Provincial Prosecutor at the Crown's Office.

To contact the Crown's Office:
Call 519-355-2240
Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Court Reporting

Before ordering a transcript of a court proceeding, the court reporter can give you a cost estimate. The cost of an original certified transcript is $3.20 per page; additional copies are $0.55 per page.  

To contact a Court Reporter:
Call 519-352-8484  Ext. 4011 or 4009 

Suspensions & Appeals

Suspensions and appeals are addressed in our Frequently Asked Questions.

Collections

It is the job of the Collections Department to collect all unpaid provincial offences fines. Failure to pay these fines within a specified timeframe could result in suspension of your driver's licence, judgments, garnishment of wages, having a lien registered against your property or reporting to a credit bureau/collection agency.

To contact the Collections Officer:
Call 519.360.1998, ext. 3181.

Contact us at CKpoc@chatham-kent.ca