Legislation and Regulation changes, in effect as of July 1, 2022

The Ontario government is proclaiming sections of the Moving Ontarians More Safety Act, 2021 related to the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, 2021 (TSSEA) in order to develop a new office dedicated to Towing and Vehicle Storage Oversight. Further regulations regarding the creation of a certification system for the vehicle towing and storage sector will come into force on later dates.

The Ontario government is also making an amendment to the Highway Traffic Act that will require school buses manufactured on or after January 1, 2005 to be equipped with an Eight Lamp Amber-Red Warning System; this system better communicates the slowing or stopping of school buses to other road users than prior warning systems.

The Ontario government is making another amendment to the Highway Traffic Act to allow municipalities to use cameras on streetcars to enforce laws in place to restrict motor vehicles from passing open streetcar doors.

Further to the above matter, Ontario is establishing a regulatory framework to allow municipalities to implement administrative penalties (APs), as an alternative to provincial offences courts, for camera-based traffic enforcement, such as red light cameras and automatic speed enforcement; this change is expected to lower the cost of adjudicating camera- based offences, free up court resources and encourage more camera adoption across the province.

The Ontario government is amending Minister's regulation 277/99 so that the City of Brantford will now be designated as a municipality authorized to establish a Red Light Camera Enforcement program meant to improve road safety.

The Ontario government is amending the Highway Traffic Act to impose a condition on a Class A driver’s licence that limits a commercial driver to operate trucks with an automatic transmission, if the driver passed their class A road test using a vehicle with an automatic transmission. As manual transmission vehicles are more difficult and complex to operate, individuals must demonstrate their competency by passing the class A road test using a manual transmission vehicle.

For additional legislation and regulation changes that came into effect on July 1, 2022, visit the Ontario Government’s website.