Associate Minister Surma Meets with Ontario Trucking Industry
TORONTO – The Ontario government is continuing to connect people and businesses to places by reducing regulatory burdens and removing barriers to job creation and income growth.
Today, Kinga Surma, Associate Minister of Transportation and Deepak Anand, MPP for Mississauga-Malton, met with leaders from Ontario’s trucking industry to discuss a proposed multi-year action plan that will make life easier for professional truck operators to do business in Ontario while remaining focused on safety.
“The trucking industry plays a very important role in Ontario’s economy because it helps get goods to market,” said Minister Surma. “Our government is listening to the Ontario trucking industry and we are taking action to ensure we support a safe, productive and competitive industry for years to come.”
“We will continue to work towards improving road safety, reducing burden on industry and ensuring Ontario is open for business and open for jobs, including within the province’s trucking industry,” said MPP Anand.
On October 28, the Ontario government introduced the Better for People, Smarter for Business Act to simplify and modernize regulations while eliminating requirements that are outdated or duplicative. If passed, professional truck drivers and companies will save time and money as the government combines separate inspections for emissions standards and vehicle safety into a single inspection.
Additionally, Ontario will continue to make it easier for trucking companies to do business and help them be more competitive and efficient through proposed changes to Ontario’s Long Combination Vehicle program and to the International Registration Plan program.
Quick Facts
- Changes to Ontario’s Long Combination Vehicle (LCV) program will ease: conditions around peak travel restrictions within the Greater Toronto Area; cargo restrictions; and allow the Parry Sound lay-by to be used as an Origin/Destination location where carriers can assemble/disassemble LCVs.
- The International Registration Plan (IRP) program in Ontario will stop mailing renewal packages to registered fleets prior to their expiry. As of January 1, 2020, all carriers must obtain their renewals online through the Permitting and Registration for International Registration Plan and Oversize/Overweight System. This will allow all IRP carriers to access the IRP renewal application online eliminating the need for mailing them out.
Additional Resources
Quotes
“The commitment made by the government of Ontario as part of this initiative to support the professional operators in our business both on and off the road is ground-breaking. The future for the industry with the support for truck operators is bright and this effort signals long term sustainability for the truck driving profession in Ontario.”
Stephen Laskowski
“The leadership shown by Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation to reduce burden on trucking companies and make our roads safer is both innovative and inspiring. The Honourable Kinga Surma, Associate Minister of Transportation and MPP Deepak Anand, along with the PC government have made a strong commitment to the Trucking Sector. The Trucking Industry matters in the province of Ontario.”
Shelley Uvanile-Hesch
“The PMTC supports initiatives such as these that reduce burden to our industry and do not compromise safety and compliance. The PMTC’s key priorities are to work with its membership, Industry and governments to ensure we promote best practices, safe, efficient and legal operations, and to ensure the regulations allow us to compete on a fair and competitive environment. The PMTC looks forward to continued collaboration with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to continue to develop action plans to improve road safety and compliance with regulations.”
Mike Millian
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