Ontario’s New Democratic Party is accusing the provincial government of allowing “lawlessness” to take root in the province’s courts after hundreds of thousands of Highway Traffic Act (HTA) charges were withdrawn before trial last year, citing a justice system overwhelmed by staffing shortages and systemic failures.
At a news conference outside Toronto courthouses on Monday, NDP justice critic Kristyn Wong-Tam warned that Ontario’s justice system is “failing its basic promises of fairness, timeliness, and public safety.” They called on the province to inject more funding into the court system to ensure charges are processed in a timely and effective manner.
“If there are no consequences to offenses, if there are no consequences to crimes committed, we become a land of lawlessness,” Wong-Tam said.
The remarks follow a CTV News and W5 investigation that found more than one in ten HTA charges were dropped before reaching trial. Withdrawals rose dramatically from approximately 57,000 charges in 2019 to 253,000 in 2024, representing around 10 per cent of all charges laid. When charges dropped during trial are included, the total jumps to 338,000 — roughly 13 per cent of all HTA charges last year.
Some of the most serious offenses were withdrawn at even higher rates: 31 per cent of careless driving charges (8,924 cases), 32 per cent of driving while suspended charges (9,302 cases), and a staggering 42 per cent of stunt driving charges (5,464 cases).
The numbers aren’t just statistics for victims like Anna Pratt. She was struck by a car while cycling in 2022, suffering multiple fractures and a concussion. She closely followed the charges laid against the driver, describing them as “a sliver of justice” that mattered deeply to her. When the case was dropped without warning, she said she felt “completely ignored” by the system.
Cycling lawyer David Shellnutt highlighted another case in which a driver ran a stop sign on Shaw Street in Toronto and collided with a cyclist — an incident captured clearly on video — yet the charges were withdrawn. “The simple slap on the wrist of the Highway Traffic Act ticket and penalty is not even administered. How crushing is that to someone who remains off work after being injured by someone?” he said.
Prosecutors themselves are sounding the alarm. Trish MacKenzie of CUPE Local 79, which represents city prosecutors, said a “staffing crisis” is at the heart of the problem. “It’s been devastating to the morale of the office. People feel extremely burdened, overworked and stressed out,” she said, adding that hiring barriers have made it difficult to bring in much-needed reinforcements.
An Ontario court judge also pointed to the lack of a proper file management system to handle the sheer volume of cases, calling the situation “shambles.”
With road safety, public confidence, and basic accountability at stake, the opposition is pressing the Ford government to act quickly to prevent further erosion of the justice system’s capacity to deliver timely consequences.