A Calgary man was more than a little puzzled when he received two traffic tickets from the Canadian Pacific Police Service, a police force that works for the railway.

His first ticket was for distracted driving, the second ticket was for tinted windows which the officer considered too dark.

Michael Falconer questions why the CP police officers are enforcing Calgary’s traffic laws.

In fact, he took the tickets to traffic court and won; both were thrown out.

Falconer says fighting the tickets was a hassle, he had to go to traffic court and says “it takes a long time, you have to pay for parking downtown, and they make it difficult.  But on principle I just saw this as a cash grab.”

However it turns out, if the traffic fines are paid the money goes to the province.

The Canadian Pacific Police Service does have the authority to ticket anyone within five hundred metres of rail lines and shipping yard. 

While the main focus of the force is the security of the country’s rail lines, the officers can enforce traffic laws as well.