Woman still fighting Metrolinx parking ticket for stolen car from Oshawa GO station

Nancy Griffin, a resident of Picton roughly 200 kilometres east of Toronto, left her vehicle at the Oshawa GO station on March 25 expecting a routine trip to and from the city. When she returned at 11:45 a.m., the car was gone. She reported the theft to Metrolinx management and Durham Regional Police Service.

In late April, as her insurance company prepared to settle what appeared to be a total loss, Griffin received a parking ticket in the mail dated March 30 — five days after the theft. She and her husband drove to the address on the ticket and found their car, damaged and with the rear licence plate dangling. Mud covered both sides and the power steering had failed.

Griffin said Metrolinx initially assured her the ticket would be voided. When it remained active, she was directed to the compliance department. In an email to CBC News, Metrolinx stated the ticket had progressed to conviction status in the court system because the vehicle was still tied to her name. The agency asked Griffin to supply a copy of the police report so its prosecutor could request the conviction be struck from the record — a process, Metrolinx noted, takes time.

Constable Nick Gluckstein from Durham Regional Police confirmed the investigation is ongoing, noting that vehicle thefts are common in large parking areas where cars are left for extended periods. He added that in certain situations, video surveillance may not have the range needed to capture accurate details.