Two of Canada’s largest Crown corporations — Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC/Radio-Canada) and Canada Post — flatly refused to disclose basic information about traffic tickets involving their vehicles, according to a new Order Paper response, even as a wide range of other federal departments cooperated.

The stonewalling appears in the government’s response to Order Paper Question Q-500, which asked how many federal vehicles received traffic tickets, which departments were involved, the nature of the infractions, the dollar value of fines, and whether taxpayers or staff paid.

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CBC told Parliament it could not provide the data because:

“The information requested is not readily available in the organization’s tracking systems. An extensive manual search would be necessary in order to provide a comprehensive response. This operation cannot be completed within the allotted timeframe.”

In plain language, the taxpayer-funded broadcaster claims it does not centrally track traffic violations involving its fleet and says compiling the data would take too much effort.

Canada Post went further, refusing disclosure outright:

“Canada Post is a Crown Corporation that operates at arm’s length from the Government. The requested information is financial in nature and has always been treated as confidential.”

Unlike CBC, Canada Post did not claim it lacked the data. It simply declared traffic ticket costs off-limits to Parliament and the public.

According to the same Order Paper response, a long list of federal departments and agencies did provide answers, including:

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

• Canadian Heritage

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

• Immigration and Refugee Board

• Employment and Social Development Canada

• Department of Finance

• National Gallery of Canada

• Battlefields Commission

Despite dozens of responding institutions, the federal government admits to only three total federal traffic tickets on record across all departments for the period examined.

But of those three:

• Only one ticket is publicly linked to a named agency

• Two remain unattributed, with details withheld under “personal information” rules

The only fully disclosed case belongs to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Here are the exact details Parliament was given:

• Fine amount: $198.00

• Infraction: Speeding via photo radar

• Location: Withheld under privacy rules

• Payment status: Not paid

• Action taken: Appealed directly to Moose Jaw police for leniency

• Outcome: Ticket withdrawn by police

• Who paid: Not applicable (ticket cancelled)

The response was formally signed by Tim Louis on behalf of the Privy Council Office.

So while ordinary Canadians pay speeding tickets or fight them in court, a federal agency was able to appeal directly to local police and have the ticket quietly cancelled.