As a Local Services Realignment (LSR) initiative, the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG) transferred the administration and selected prosecutorial responsibilities for provincial offences to the municipal sector. In the transfer, municipalities became responsible for the administrative functions, court support and most prosecutions for Part I offences, which are regulatory ticket offences; administrative functions for the remainder of Part II offences which are parking tickets that were not previously administered by municipalities; ongoing court support for Part II trials and prosecutions, as well as, administrative and court support activities for Part III offences.

The Provincial Offences Act is a procedural law for administering and prosecuting provincial offences and encompasses approximately 120 different Acts with the most common violations falling under the Highway Traffic Act, the Liquor License Act, and the Compulsory Auto Insurance Act. The Act also includes offences enforced by various Ministries such as the Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of the Environment and the Department of Natural Resources and includes municipal by-laws. Criminal, family, and small claims court matters are administered by the Ministry of the Attorney General. The Provincial Offences Act regulates all aspects of the legal process from serving notice of an offence to a defendant, to conducting trials, including sentencing and appeals. Provincial Offences and contraventions continue to be enforced by police officers and enforcement officers employed by provincial Ministries such as the Ministry of the Environment. Municipal by-law enforcement officers are also empowered under the act to commence charges and issue process for by-law offences.

On November 6, 2000, the administration of the POA was transferred from the Province of Ontario to the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.  At that time, the Counties became responsible for the collection of POA fine revenue (for convictions registered before and after the transfer). As part of the transfer, the Counties assumed major responsibilities for prosecuting most POA charges, staffing the administration office and court room, and by processing charges, collecting fines and maintaining financial records.

The Counties retains the net POA revenue, after the expenses of facility leasing, staffing, office expenses and the remittance to the Province of the victim surcharge to the Victim's Justice Fund. The Counties must also pay for the Ministry of the Attorney General's ongoing related costs (i.e., adjudication and some prosecution costs). This net revenue is then split with the City of Brockville, the Town of Gananoque and the Town of Prescott under a Joint Services Agreement which was signed in 2000. The remaining portion becomes part of the county levy and helps to offset some of the other services that were downloaded from the Province (social services, ambulance etc.)

Collection efforts remain the major challenge for the POA Department. Along with the statutory time frames for the payment of fines, the POA Collection Officer is responsible for the monitoring and the follow up of outstanding fines using various techniques including the garnishee of wages, small claims court and collection agencies.

The Attorney General continues to be constitutionally responsible for the administration of justice and for setting and monitoring program standards in order to ensure Ontarians have equal access to justice services throughout Ontario. Appointing the Justices of the Peace also continues to be their responsibility thereby ensuring independent adjudication of POA matters.

Provincial Offences Court is normally held every Wednesday and the first Tuesday of the month in Court Room #1 at the Superior and Ontario Court Building located at 41 Court House Square, Brockville, and on the third Thursday of every month at the court room located at 15 Water Street, Kemptville. The Counties provides Court Monitors to attend these court days and record the proceedings of the court. In addition, Court Monitors provide secretarial duties to the Justice of the Peace four mornings a week. The Counties is also responsible for providing interpreters on an as needed basis. The government has also kept its commitment and insured that French language services are protected and maintained. French language court is scheduled once every three to four months in Brockville, and includes all requests for French trials regardless of where the offence occurred in our court service area. On occasion, there are special court sittings and trials that may last for several weeks (environmental offences) for which court room space and services must be provided.

The Counties must continue to ensure that all the terms and conditions of the Memorandum of Understanding that the Counties entered into with the Attorney General are complied with.