Ontario has permanently removed long-weekend and holiday operating restrictions for long combination vehicles (LCVs) and updated the rules governing extended stinger-steer auto carriers (ESSACs) as part of a broader effort to ease program requirements for carriers, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) told the Ontario Trucking Association (OTA).
For LCVs, the ministry confirmed that the holiday restrictions, suspended during the pandemic, will not return. Ontario is also updating rear-signage specifications to align with Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
OTA has asked the ministry to work with eastern provinces to further streamline conditions, including allowing the movement of freight that does not require an emergency response assistance plan.
“We commend the task force and the Council of Deputy Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety for working with OTA and Canadian Trucking Alliance in removing this trade barrier,” Geoff Wood, OTA’s senior vice president of policy, said in a news release.
The ministry has also completed several revisions to the ESSAC program, which was created in 2017 to match U.S. allowances for longer stinger-steer auto carriers.
The updated rules eliminate earlier restrictions on the number of permits a carrier can hold, allowing four permits during the first year and unlimited permits after a year of safe operations.
Driver experience requirement reduced to two years
MTO has removed the transitional ESSAC configuration due to a lack of carrier interest. Driver-experience requirements have been reduced from five years to two, while orientation training remains mandatory with increased oversight.
Monthly reporting rules have also been adjusted. Full-ESSAC configurations, which may only operate on designated engineered routes, must continue submitting detailed monthly trip reports.
ON-ESSAC configurations, which may operate on all public highways, will face reduced reporting requirements due to their lower risk profile. Carriers must now submit a certified VIN-specific OEM specification sheet with permit applications to confirm trailers meet program standards.
Full-ESSAC units remain limited to approved routes and destinations, while ON-ESSAC configurations — compatible with U.S. rules but with dimensional limits to control front and rear outswing — may operate across the provincial highway network.
“The ESSAC program in Ontario is a textbook example of how government and industry can work together to design and update an adaptable permit regime that considers the realities of today’s automobile transport industry,” Wood said, adding that similar frameworks across eastern Canada are nearing completion to improve cross-provincial access.
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