ManitobaWinnipeg police have started rolling out a new electronic system for traffic tickets, weeks after one of their officers pleaded guilty to charges that included getting rid of people’s tickets in exchange for liquor and gift cards over a period of years.Police say update was in the works for years, is not related to Const. Elston Bostock’s recent guilty pleasCaitlyn Gowriluk · CBC News · Posted: Nov 26, 2025 6:57 PM EST | Last Updated: November 26Listen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.The phased rollout of a new ticketing system for offences under Manitoba’s Highway Traffic Act started Wednesday in select traffic enforcement vehicles, and is expected to be rolled out across the entire service next year. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)The Winnipeg Police Service has started rolling out a new electronic system for traffic tickets, weeks after one of its officers pleaded guilty to charges that included getting rid of people’s tickets in exchange for liquor and gift cards over a period of years.Under the new system, officers who give out tickets will input them electronically, freeing officers up from additional paperwork, cutting down on administrative errors and increasing accountability in the process, the police service said in a Wednesday news release.The phased rollout of the new ticketing system for offences under Manitoba’s Highway Traffic Act started Wednesday in select traffic enforcement vehicles, and is expected to be rolled out across the entire service next year.But police say the new system has nothing to do with Const. Elston Bostock, who admitted earlier this month to a long list of allegations involving corruption, including ticket fixing.Winnipeg Police Service Staff Sgt. Ryan Berube said e-ticketing has been on the radar for years, but it “doesn’t occur overnight.””It just finally, for various reasons, the technology … all kind of lined up at once to have a renewed push for this e-ticketing,” Berube said in an interview, adding he can’t say why the initiative didn’t take off sooner, since he’s only been directly involved for the last year. Ticket-fixing scandal reflects ‘culture problem’ that Winnipeg police ‘can’t be trusted to fix’: researcherWinnipeg police officer pleads guilty to offences including voiding tickets, stealing cannabis from scene”But I’m sure it was a number of issues, mostly dealing with melding technology with our current processes.”Tandeep Sidhu, an assistant professor in the University of Manitoba’s department of sociology and criminology, said the update seems like a step in the right direction to improve police accountability and make ticket fixing harder — but in the wake of Bostock’s case, it may be “too little, too late” for a police force he said now faces a “legitimacy crisis.”Const. Elston Bostock admitted earlier this month to a long list of allegations involving corruption, including ticket fixing. (Submitted)”The damage from the Bostock case has likely contributed towards this general perception, which probably existed anyway, that ticket fixing was a broader systemic issue rather than something being limited to a single person,” Sidhu said.He said it’s possible police did genuinely have the plan in the works before the allegations against Bostock came to light. But he wonders why it took them so long to implement it — especially given that provincial legislation came into effect in 2016 enabling police departments to transition to electronic traffic ticket systems, which Manitoba RCMP did over a decade ago.Not a ‘bulletproof system’However, Sidhu said while e-ticketing systems are “less susceptible to abuse” than paper-based ones, that “doesn’t mean it’s a bulletproof system.””Even in municipalities where we have this electronic ticketing system, there’s generally the perception of, ‘Hey, I know somebody who can get you out of a ticket,’ or, ‘Let me talk to somebody,’ right?” he said.One area where issues potentially still exist is in police ability to exercise discretion — “which is a foundational component of their job,” said Sidhu.”What happens when a family member of a police officer is pulled over? What happens when a fellow police officer is pulled over, or somebody who works for the Winnipeg Police Service?”It’s very hard to uncover these trends of ticket fixing because we’re dealing with a massive sea of data — and it’s difficult to parse out these patterns, especially when we’re dealing with thousands of cases.”Bostock, who has worked with the Winnipeg Police Service for more than two decades, admitted earlier this month to offences including getting traffic tickets voided in exchange for liquor and gift cards, stealing cannabis from a police scene, sharing confidential police information and sending lewd texts about a photo he took of the nearly naked body of a woman who had fatally overdosed.He’s expected to go to prison after pleading guilty to charges including breach of trust, attempting to obstruct justice, theft under $5,000 and offering an indignity to human remains, following a lengthy investigation dubbed Project Fibre that began in April 2024 and discovered offences dating as far back as 2016.Bostock pleaded guilty as part of a deal that will see defence lawyers ask for nothing less than a penitentiary sentence and provincial Crown attorneys cap their request at six years. He still faces, and is expected to plead guilty to, other federal drug charges, for which prosecutors are expected to ask for a consecutive sentence of a year, court heard earlier this month.Winnipeg Police Service Chief Gene Bowers said at the time Bostock remained suspended without pay. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in January, after a psychological report requested by his defence is completed.ABOUT THE AUTHORCaitlyn Gowriluk has been writing for CBC Manitoba since 2019. Her work has also appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press, and in 2021 she was part of an award-winning team recognized by the Radio Television Digital News Association for its breaking news coverage of COVID-19 vaccines. Get in touch with her at caitlyn.gowriluk@cbc.ca.Follow Caitlyn Gowriluk on X
Winnipeg police roll out electronic traffic ticket system in wake of officer’s guilty plea to ticket fixing
