[Tcoat]

I think (don't know) that the fundamental difference that may lead to "quotas" in the States is the policing of towns and even some smaller cities. In Canada that duty is usually performed by the RCMP or Provincial police, both of which are at least partially either Federally or Provincially funded. The towns do pay a fee for the service but are not reliant of other cash to operate them. I understand (and have seen) some very small towns in the States that have their own police force. Tax dollars can only go so far and these areas may very likely have some sort of cash flow requirement that would require X number of tickets issued to meet.
I stand to be corrected on this but I have always wondered how some small town in the middle of nowhere Tennessee could have 24 hour police coverage with a tax base of 1000 people.