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Student Legal Assistance operates year round. Please note that Caseworkers cannot make Court appearances for you during examination time periods.

Appointments

Important Notes

  • Intake appointments are booked on a first come first serve basis.
  • There is a one-time application fee of $50 (except for U of C Undergrads, they get the services for free)
  • The SLA office is open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
  • The SLA office is closed on week-ends and statutory holidays.
  • Caseworkers do not provide legal information over the phone. In order to obtain summary information or access legal information and representation, clients must first attend an intake appointment.
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Traffic / Bylaw

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Do you have a traffic or bylaw issue? SLA may be able to help you with the following matters:

  • Driving an uninsured motor vehicle 

  • Failure to remain at the scene 

  • Speeding 

  • Failure to stop at red light 

  • Careless driving 

  • Driving while suspended 

  • Failure to produce insurance

  • Driving with a suspended licence 

  • Unsafe lane change 

  • Disobeying a traffic sign 

  • Following too closely 

  • Fighting or loitering in public places 

  • Pet related violations 

  • Failure to produce valid fare

In Calgary, Traffic Court hears provincial offence matters including traffic violations under the Traffic Safety Act and municipal traffic by-laws.  

 SLA is unable to assist in the following civil matters: 

  • Matters requiring appearances in the Court of King’s Bench 

  • Personal injury claims 

  • Drafting commercial contracts 

  • Matters involving the sale of interest in land 

What might happen?

The steps in each traffic matter may vary. Below is a list of common steps when you are involved in a traffic violation:

1

You are issued a traffic or bylaw ticket

2

You request disclosure

3

You make you first appearance (usually to enter a plea or adjourn if necessary). The Provincial Court of Alberta Traffic Tickets Service Site can be used to make a payment, request time to pay, dispute your ticket or request a trial date. For more information visit the Provincial Court Traffic Court website here.

4

Enter a Plea:
1. If you enter a plea of not guilty, a trial date will be set.
2. If you wish to enter a plea of guilty, you may either pay the ticket amount or, in certain cases, a disposition date will be set.

5

Trial (if you have pleaded not guilty).

For more information, please visit the Provincial Court of Alberta Traffic Court website here.

Traffic and Bylaw Terminology to get Familiar With:

Bylaw: The Municipal Government Act grants City Council the power to pass bylaws. Bylaws are created to address issues and concerns of the local community. They are created for reasons ranging such as environmental protection, or promoting public health and public safety. 

Conviction Set Aside: If you fail to dispute the charge against you or to appear in person or by agent in court, you may, if no more than 15 days have passed since the conviction first came to your attention, appear before a justice with an affidavit stating your reason for not appearing. If the justice is satisfied that your reason is reasonable, the justice shall set aside the conviction and give you a new notice of trial. 

Demerit Points 

Demerit points are recorded against a driver’s licence: 

  • When a total of eight or more but less than 15 points have accumulated, you are mailed a courtesy notice of point standing. 

  • When an accumulation of 15 or more points occurs within a two-year period, your licence is automatically suspended for one month. 

  • When the suspension is the second demerit suspension within one year, your licence is suspended for three months. 

  • When the suspension is the third (or more) demerit suspension within two years, your licence is suspended for six months. In addition, you may be required to appear before the Alberta Transportation Safety Board. 

  • There is no remedy or appeal against a demerit point suspension, unless it can be proven the demerit points were assigned in error. You may request to review your driving record on these grounds by making a written submission to the Driver Fitness and Monitoring Branch. 

  • When a demerit point suspension has been served, the licence is reinstated with seven demerit points against it. These points remain on your record until a period of two years from the assessed date has passed. 

  • When two years have elapsed from the date of a conviction, the number of points assessed for that conviction are removed from your record. Remember, the date of conviction is the date that you actually pay your fine or are found guilty in absence, not the date that you received the fine. 

  • If an approved defensive driving course has been successfully completed prior to accumulating 15 or more points, a maximum of three demerit points may be removed from a driving record once every two years. 

For more information, see the Alberta Transportation website. 

Disclosure: All the prosecutor’s evidence related to a case, such as witness statements and the notes of any police officer involved. 

Driver’s abstract: Your driver abstract can show the last 3, 5 or 10 years of your driving history. It will show you licence status as well as any infractions and demerit points. 

Traffic Safety Act and Regulations: In Alberta, the rules of the road are established by the Traffic Safety Act and Regulations. The Act deals with a variety of driving issues from driver training and driver examinations to demerit points.

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Student Legal Assistance operates year round. However, please note that Caseworkers are unavailable and cannot make Court appearances on their client’s behalf during winter and spring examination periods.