Province taking over tow truck regulations, Newmarket losing more than $15,000 in annual licencing fees
Newmarket area tow truck driver Gary Bard is living in a different world for the industry.
Ontario implemented a new regulatory regime Jan. 1, taking away licensing from municipalities and puttihng it into provincial hands and introducing new rules.
Bard said he sees positives in no longer having to deal with regulations from a wide range of municipalities.
The municipal rates “felt like a money grab,” he said, adding that a central form of licensing is “a lot more reasonable.”
The province completed a regulatory changeover after years of buildup. Previously, tow truck drivers would have to be licensed and regulated in each municipality in which they operate, with each municipality setting rates separately. Now, the province will oversee all tow truck licensing and regulation, putting everyone under one larger umbrella.
That means municipalities no longer need to manage tow trucks, but there are funds they are losing out on as a result. With between seven and 11 tow truck companies getting licensed in Newmarket each year, the municipality is losing out on about $15,750 in licensing fees annually.
However, director of legislative services Lisa Lyons said that revenue was not necessarily a net gain.
“The town passes licensing regulations to support consumer protection, health and safety. The revenue from licensing and fines is structured to cover the costs of running programs (administration, inspections, enforcement),” she said. “Staff administer and enforce many types of business licenses and will continue to dedicate our resources to health and safety programs.”
Newmarket has already taken steps to amend its business bylaws with the changes.
Bard said the province could have potentially allowed municipal bylaws to enforce the new provincial rules so that municipalities could have kept revenue.
However, he said the old municipal regime had issues. Tow truck drivers would have to get licensed under each municipality in which they wanted to drive. With tow truck companies often crossing municipal boundaries, that meant having to get a lot of different licences to operate — and pay for all of them.
“If you’re one guy, as an owner/operator, it’s hard to justify all of these plates,” he said.
He described inconsistency with the costs, as well, with some municipalities charging much more than others. Bylaw officers could also give you a difficult time if your tow truck is not licensed with them, he said, even if you are passing through and not operating within the community.
“It certainly makes things easier not having to go to different municipalities and pay all these fees and having to get your criminal record checked multiple times at different levels,” he said. “Now I can do it at a government level and do it one time.”
The new rules ensure that all tow truck operators are certified by the province. It also ensures that customers have the right to decide who tows their vehicles, that tow truck drivers obtain consent before towing a vehicle and that they provide an invoice before requesting payment. Rates cannot exceed the maximums that operators will send to the Ministry of Transportation.
The changeover also results in a price adjustment upward, Bard said, adding it is “long overdue” in the face of rising costs.
“They’re charging us more for the insurance on the trucks. Everything’s gone up,” Bard said.
Parts of the towing industry have welcomed the changeover.
“CAA has been working for over a decade with stakeholders and government officials to achieve provincial regulation of the towing industry,” assistant vice-president of CAA South Central Ontario Teresa Di Felice said in a January news release. “These changes will make a big difference for drivers.”
But Bard said he remains unsure of the new regulations. He said that there are parts of the regime change not fully thought out, such as ensuring insurance companies are on board with the new rate structure and a lack of ability to itemize bills in more detail.
CAA said the new rules are still getting rolled out through July.
Bard said he wants more time before judging whether the new regime is good or bad for the industry overall.
“It’s too early to say,” Bard said.
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