As a QC resident I can confirm that contesting tickets is a huge pain. Police officers have quotas, so they might write you down for about anything and there's not much to do about it.
Prosecutors might make you an offer for a lower penalty before going to court, but it much depends on the personality of the person you're dealing with. Contesting means physically going to court. If you need the officer to be present, you can ask for it. If the judge finds that it wasn't helpful for the officer to be present, you might be ordered to pay his salary for that duration though.
Even judges can be condescending or simply haven't been laid in a while and just want to find everyone guilty with ridiculous arguments (I've even heard: "Just pay the fine, I'm sure you can afford it.")