Ontario’s Minister of Transportation Applauds Introduction of Federal ELD Mandate
(Brampton, Ont. Dec. 18, 2017) – The Ontario Trucking Association is congratulating federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau and Ontario’s Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca for once again showing leadership in truck safety by announcing their support for the electronic logging device mandate.
“Ontario has a strong record of adopting and supporting initiatives that further improve road safety. Three years ago, our government became the first in Canada to publicly endorse the use of electronic logging devices,” said Ontario Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca. “I commend Transport Canada for taking this important step toward making these devices mandatory.”
Minister Garneau introduced the mandate this morning in Brampton, the details were provided in a Canadian Trucking Alliance release also issued today.
“Minister Del Duca has been a great partner for OTA in improving truck safety. ELDs are going to reduce fatigue in commercial drivers, which will have a positive impact on reducing distracted driving collisions and increasing safety for our sector,” said OTA president Stephen Laskowski
OTA would like to see this regulation be enforced as soon as possible. To make this happen, OTA will be working with MTO to understand the regulatory/legislative process and MTO enforcement work required to bring this regulation into force. OTA is also sensitive that many fleets not operating in the US have yet to make the transition to ELDs, which will also factor into timing of mandatory enforcement of ELDs in Ontario and the rest of Canada.
“OTA believes that with industry and government working together we can deal with ELD transition issues in an effective manner that balances the realities of this process with the implementation delays due to poor planning or a lack of engagement by industry or governments across the country,” said Laskowski.
As outlined above, Minister Del Duca has been the only provincial minister to date to declare his support for mandatory ELD technology. Considering the significant highway safety benefits to be achieved through the implementation of this regulation, OTA is hopeful other provincial ministers would be using this time to see how ELD technology can be mandated in their jurisdiction as soon as possible.