Ontario Highway Traffic Act

The offence is committed when you first enter the intersection, not when you actually clear the intersection.

The charge is "Fail to use lower beam - oncoming". The "commercial vehicle" at the end simply is referring to what you're friend was driving, not the type of oncoming traffic. Commercial vehicles are subject to higher fines then regular vehicles ($240 vs $110) but the demerit points are the same. For this particular charge it would be 2 points.

Random plate queries are lawful. Random traffic stops are also lawful to check on drivers licence, insurance, etc.

Theres significant case law dealing with police authority to stop persons/vehicles, but youd have to be a little more specific as to what exactly youre looking for.

Unfortunately there isnt anything you can do until a ticket is issued, at which time you'd have to go to Court and fight the charge.

Its up to the charging officer. They can proceed by way of Part III summons for any offence but for most minor offences a Part I (a regular ticket) is more common. Typically for 15 over it would be a Part I. A Part III wouldn't be issued unless too much time had passed for a regular ticket or there were other more serious charges laid as well.

Was there a stop sign or traffic light?

The officer probably simply failed to submit the ticket in time, which would be a nice break for you. What the clerk was referring to was the fact that the officer still has six months to lay the charge, but would now have to do so by way of summons instead of a regular ticket.

Even if youre summonsed to Court, you can still simply plead guilty ...

It depends what you're hoping for. At an early resolution meeting they'll probably offer you some type of deal (i.e. less serious charge and/or reduced fine), but if you want to fight the charge outright you'll have to go to trial.

FYI, the fact that you're not familiar with pedestrian crossovers isn't a valid defence in Court. You'll have to find ...

Cell phones are required to be turned off (not just put on silent) in all Courts. The Secretary certainly was within her right to ask you to leave.

I think it would be very difficult to show you were pressured into entering your plea. The Justice of the Peace likely asked you several questions regarding if you understood your options and what ...

Even a speeding conviction (up to 49 over) is typically considered a minor offence. In fact your initial charge (which sounds like a red light offence) would probably be considered minor. To be certain, its always best to confirm with your provider how they classify an offence, but it typically has to be pretty serious before it will have a major ...

1) I agree that the photo (at least your scanned copy) is quite dark. However when I boost the brightness, it still looks to me like your front wheels are behind the stop line. Youre correct in that if you've already entered the intersection its no longer a red light offence. I`m not sure how far in Court you'd get arguing the photo isn't clear ...

New York is one of the two States that has a full reciprocal agreement with Ontario, so any conviction will appear on your Ontario abstract.

To the best of my knowledge, the MTO will try and match it to whatever most closely resembles the offence here in Ontario. I'm not familiar with New York laws, but it sounds like the deal you're being offered ...

The code showing a ticket has been reduced is not always present, its optional on the officers part and sometimes forgotten. You wont really know for certain until you review the officers notes.

Im not aware of any option that would prevent the ticket from showing on your Michigan record short of being found not guilty. The Crown will probably ...

The officer will be required to introduce the video evidence at the very least.

What are you actually being charged with? You say it's for not providing proof of insurance, but I think you're actually being charged for not having insurance (a much more serious fine, $5000 vs $50).

If you got a break with the less serious charge, I'd say just pay it and move on.