Winter woes return for hundreds of Vancouverites facing potential fines for not clearing sidewalks

It may be summer, but hundreds of Vancouverites were reminded of winter this week after being summoned to provincial court to potentially face fines for not removing snow and ice from their sidewalks earlier this year — a process some say is unclear and unfair.

Bylaws require residents in the city to clear their sidewalks by 10 a.m. the morning after a snowfall. 

The City of Vancouver said, because of the way its snow removal bylaws are written, the fines can only be issued in person by a bylaw officer or by court summons. 

According to a city spokesperson, the fines range from $750 to $2,000. 

Agnes Ng said her parents, in their late 60s and mid-70s, were shocked when they got a summons Thursday for allegedly not clearing the sidewalk of their East Vancouver home on January 7. 

"I don't know what happened on January 7 — it's really a long time ago," she said. 

"They're obviously shaken and they're frightened and they can't afford to hire a lawyer just to deal with this one issue. 

"They don't know what to do with it and they barely even know what a summons is."

Thousands of warnings issued across the city

Ng insists this is the first time her parents have heard from the city on the issue.

"My parents haven't received anything in person, by mail or by telephone whatsoever and they can swear by that," she said. 

Ng said her father either shoveled the snow himself this winter or, when he wasn't able to, called the city's Snow Angel program or a local MP for help. 

But the city contends the summons are typically issued only after its legal team has reviewed each file on a case-by-case basis, ensuring at least two warnings were issued and residents didn't call its 311 service for help. 

A city spokesperson said its records show bylaw officers issued two warnings to that property.

Ng, who lives in Toronto, said she's now going to have to fly back to Vancouver to help her parents with their court appearance on July 11. 

She said it was only after she spoke with the city prosecutor that she found out her parents' choices will be to plead guilty and face the fine or plead not guilty and face another court appearance.

"This is not just happening to my home, this is happening across Vancouver," Ng said. "I don't know how much of court's time we need to take over a minor infraction."

The city said it issued more than 10,250 warnings to residents who hadn't cleared their sidewalks of snow and ice this winter, and it got more than 3,000 complaints about icy sidewalks.